Manchester United to Hand Phil Jones £19.5m Contract as Louis van Gaal Places Faith in Defender

Phil Jones will reportedly be handed a new £75,000-a-week deal to stay at Manchester United after manager Louis van Gaal put his faith in the defender.

Jones has been criticised in some quarters for failing to develop into the player observers thought he would become after joining United from Blackburn Rovers in 2011.

The 22-year-old was partly culpable for Swansea's opening goal at Old Trafford on Saturday as the Swans ran out 2-1 winners.

But manager van Gaal has seemingly noticed promising signs in his performances. He has backed the England international to become a bedrock of his defence and is ready to offer him the five-year £19.5m extension.

The Sun reports United want to tie down the versatile defender, who has two years remaining on his contract, and build the Old Trafford club's backline around him.

It was reported United were willing to offer either the Preston-born defender or his centre back partner Chris Smalling to Arsenal as part of a proposed deal to take Thomas Vermaelen to Manchester but the Belgian international ultimately decided to join Barcelona.

Van Gaal has been scouring the transfer market for defensive players after losing captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra at the end of last season.

Their capture of Luke Shaw from Southampton for £27m was supposed to fill the void left by Evra, who joined Italian champions Juventus, but van Gaal has been critical of the England full back's fitness and Shaw has since been ruled out until September with a hamstring injury.

United's defensive woes were lessened after the arrival of Marcos Rojo from Sportling Lisbon. The £16m Argentine signed a five-year deal at Old Trafford on Wednesday and said he was thrilled to be joining the club.

"It is such an honour to say that I now play for Manchester United. The Premier League is the most exciting league in the world and to have the chance to play in it for the world's biggest club is a dream for me," he told United's official website.