Young, brave and bright: Why the future of Manchester United's defence is in good hands

A lot of Manchester United players have struggled for form so far this season as David Moyes continues to try to get things right at the club. There have been a few stand-out performers, however.

For starters, Wayne Rooney has been in fine form up front, netting eight league goals and assisting on six more. Robin van Persie may be battling with injury, but he has pulled his weight too, chipping in with seven goals. Both strikers have worked very well together up front.

And despite shipping 19 goals in their 16 league games played, United have had some outstanding performers in defence. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in particular have really come of age this season, with both receiving much praise for their mature performances, especially at such a difficult time for the club. And then there’s Jonny Evans.

The Northern Irishman has started nine of United’s league games this season due to injuries to regular starters Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, and he has acquitted himself quite well in their absence. He may have even staked a claim for a regular place at the back.

For starters, he has proven to be an efficient defender. United have been really worked at the back so far this season, and have made the second most defensive actions in the league as a result (962). Evans has contributed 78 clearances, 10 interceptions, and a joint team-high five blocks to that total.

Evans’ clearances so far this season

He has proven himself to be great at putting out fires in his penalty area, willing to throw himself into last ditch tackles and hurl himself in front of his opponents’ shots in order to protect his goal. He isn’t the fastest of defenders, but he makes up for that with his anticipation and bravery.

On the ball he has also proven reliable. Of the United players to have started at least as many games as him, only Tom Cleverley has a better pass completion percentage (89%) than his 87. Even so, Evans’ average pass length is four metres greater than Cleverley’s. The Englishman tends to keep his passes short and simple in midfield, much to the frustration of fans, while Evans likes to step out of the defence with the ball and play it long when he can–sometimes for the strikers up top, other times into space for the wingers.

He too has had his share of injury problems in recent years, but has started to come good on the promise that Sir Alex Ferguson saw that made the Scot decide to sell Gerard Pique to Barcelona in favour of keeping him.

With Vidic and Ferdinand both edging towards the twilight of their careers and the latter’s future at the club still far from certain, Evans, along with Jones and Smalling, are showing that the future of United’s defence is in good hands.