Football? Completed it mate.
Adding an FA Cup winners’ medal to his Premier League, Champions League, League Cup and Club World Cup successes, Manchester United‘s veteran centre-half Jonny Evans has just ticked one major ambition off his bucket list as his career winds to a close.
It’s fair to say, when the 36-year-old returned to United on a very short-term contract covering last summer’s pre-season, few saw this coming. Evans, so reliable and still with so much quality, stepped off the bench as Erik ten Hag‘s team held their fearsome arch rivals Manchester City at arms’ length throughout a dogged, determined rearguard display.
And for Evans, quizzed about the future of his manager at full-time, there was no doubt in his mind.
Ten Hag deserves to stay put, and be given the opportunity to show what he can achieve under a proper, coherent sporting structure, an ownership group that cares, and with a fully fit squad to fall back on.
Erik ten Hag wins the FA Cup for Manchester United
“I hope (Ten Hag stays),” Evans told reporters in the Wembley mixed zone.
“He’s been amazing for me this season, bringing me back in, showing a lot of belief in me and playing me as much as he has. I’ve only got good things to say about him.
“And, I think over the last month or so, he’s shown incredible technical flexibility to be able to sit off counter attack, a style he doesn’t see himself coaching, but he’s done it and over the last month or so we’ve put in some much better performances.”
It might not be Ten Hag’s preferred way of approaching games, but there’s no doubt it works. The former Ajax boss has swapped his transitional, often chaotic style for a more controlled one of late.
And that change has been rewarded after that 4-0 thumping at Crystal Palace, Man United ending the season with three straight wins, with Europa League football, and with another trophy in the bag.
Will Jonny Evans stay at Old Trafford too?
“He’s been amazing for me,” adds Evans, who played a remarkable 30 games across 2023/24. “And I can only thank him for that. I have a great relationship with him and I hope he stays.
“I came back in the summer and he put his trust me, which is all you want from your manager. I’ve had 30 games this season, so I’m happy.”
Man United have a decision to make over Evans’ own future in the coming days and weeks. The Northern Irishman is out of contract this summer, and it has yet to be confirmed whether or not he will be following Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane out the door.
“You can’t tell what way these things will go,” Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill tells the Belfast Live of Evans’ next step.
“I think Jonny has done himself no harm this season, as he has been an important player for Manchester United in a difficult season. A team that has had a lot of challenges.
“There are a lot of managers out there that would love to have Jonny Evans at their club. You don’t know what opportunities will be presented to players.
“From my point of view, I want to see Jonny continue to play for club and country.”