Jonny Evans is back at Manchester United and the centre-back rolled back the years on Saturday evening when he made his first start for the club since 2015.
Evans’ performance attracted the attention of supporters and experts and he has quickly become on of the biggest talking points in the aftermath of United’s 1-0 win over Burnley.
Bruno Fernandes gave United the lead in the first half after Evans picked the midfielder’s run out with a lovely 40-yard pass and just minutes earlier, it looked like the defender had scored himself.
That goal was ruled out by the VAR but his dominance in that moment alone would set the tone for the rest of the game as he dominated all aspects of the game.
Ten Hag was among the people to come to Evans’ praises after the game and the former Leicester star has now spoken out himself, explaining how his surprising return to the club came about in the first place.
“I wasn’t consciously thinking I would sign [after getting the first call],” Evans told TNT Sports, via the BBC, on initially joining the club on a short-term summer deal.
“When you get to a certain age you start to wind down your career. I got the call and didn’t have another option, so I just took it and tried to do my best in training and take my chance. You then just hope your body sees you through.
“It was never a thought that i would come in and be a starter, i was told that my role would be to provide competition and that is how I have approached it. With a few injuries I then had the chance to start tonight.”
As Evans points out, he was not brought in to start immediately but the circumstances have allowed him to leave his mark and he sure did.
Injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire have left Ten Hag short of options and although Evans’ return was highly questioned when he signed, it looks like that could be some shrewd business.
