Jonny Evans has reflected on the early stages of his professional career and how he benefited from ‘world-class’ players in the Manchester United dressing room.
After two stints at Manchester United, Jonny Evans made 241 appearances for the club, winning three Premier League titles and was part of the Champions League-winning squad in 2008.
The former Northern Ireland international rose through the youth ranks before graduating from United’s academy.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Evans established himself as a reliable defender during one of the club’s most successful periods.
Initially a strong backup option, Evans became a regular first-team member, but Louis van Gaal sold him to West Brom in 2016.
However, after impressing at West Brom and Leicester City, winning the FA Cup with the latter, Evans returned to Old Trafford as a free agent in 2023.
Evans announced his retirement at the end of the 2024/25 season, but he has now reflected on the guidance he received from some of his senior teammates at United when he was breaking into the team.
Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic helped Jonny Evans at Man Utd
For most young defenders, it would have been too daunting a task to break into a team that boasted the best pairing at centre-back in Europe.
That was the case at Old Trafford when Rio Ferdinand formed a formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic, which even led to Gerard Piqué leaving the club to return to Barcelona.
Evans took to the challenge like a duck to water and went on to become an important player under Ferguson. Van Gaal’s decision to sell the centre-back was later deemed a mistake by many, but his return in 2023 was warmly welcomed by United fans.
A rare appearance on Monday Night Football this week led to Evans elaborating on how Ferdinand and Vidic helped his development as an emerging defender.
Jamie Carragher asked Evans what it was like to come through at United when the Red Devils had the best centre-back pairing the Premier League has ever seen.
“They were brilliant with me,” Evans said about Ferdinand and Vidic.
“I’d come back from Sunderland (loan) thinking, ‘I’m miles away from United’s first team’, but there was an injury to one of them, early on in the season, and I ended up playing. I was thinking, ‘I’m actually a lot closer than what I think here.’
“And each time – to be fair to Sir Alex – he would throw me in. He would play me in a lot of games. I think, in my first season back after I’d been on loan at Sunderland, I ended up playing close to 30 games, which was a big surprise for me.
“Playing alongside Rio and Vidic – two world-class centre-backs – I was constantly trying to learn from them. I’d ask questions and that’s probably how I did most of my learning. Probably similar to yourself [Carragher], playing alongside good players, trying to learn from them.”
Despite leaving United in 2008, Piqué also credited Ferdinand with helping him develop as a defender.
Jonny Evans played a role in incredible run of clean sheets
United set a record during the 2008/09 season for the most consecutive clean sheets in Premier League history.
Ferguson’s side achieved 14 clean sheets on the bounce as Edwin van der Sar went 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in the Premier League.
Evans played a role in that record which still stands today.
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