‘Will he carry the bags?’ – Phil Jones’ shock inclusion on Man Utd plane to Villarreal leaves Ray Parlour baffled

PHIL JONES’ shock inclusion in Manchester United’s travelling squad for their crucial Champions League group match against Villarreal has come under fire.

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour questioned what Jones’ role would be on Tuesday, considering the centre-back’s last appearance came at the start of LAST year.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the Invincibles great said: “Do you know what, I forgot Phil Jones was even in there.

“What’s he going to do? Carry the bags or something?

“He’s not in the squad, what’s the point of taking him?”

Interim boss and United legend Michael Carrick takes charge against Villarreal and has dropped Bruno Fernandes.

And Donny van de Beek has been given a rare start after his goal-scoring exploits in the defeat to Watford last weekend.

If United lose in Spain and Atalanta beat Young Boys, the Red Devils could drop to third in the group with one game remaining.

With Mauricio Pochettino being eyed as the potential long-term successor to sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Carrick is keen to relish the probable little time he has in the hot seat.

Ahead of the game, Carrick said: “We’ll have to see, really [transforming the club].

“Obviously I’ve worked closely with Ole for a long time now and we do have very similar beliefs.

“We did as players and we certainly do as coaches and manager.

“Of course I’ve got my own personality, but it’s very similar, that’s why we worked together for so long and it went so well for a period of time.

“I’m not giving too much away of what my plans are but I’m very clear in my own mind what we want to do.

“I have my own ideas about how we want to play, how we want to go about it and I’m looking forward to seeing that on the pitch.”

⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk