Man Utd set to complete Jones deal

Manchester United are expected to complete the signing of Blackburn defender Phil Jones later Thursday in a deal valued at around £16 million, reports said. Jones, a member of the England team competing at the European Under-21 championships in Denmark, was whisked away to United's Carrington training complex on Wednesday for a medical. The 19-year-old centre-half was photographed being driven away from the United complex on Wednesday before joining up with his England team-mates in Denmark, several reports showed. Neither Manchester United nor Blackburn have made any formal comment on the deal, but the Red Devils are believed to have beaten off competition from Arsenal and Liverpool for Jones' signature. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been long-term admirer of Jones since the youngster made his debut for Rovers at Ewood Park last year. And United striker Wayne Rooney welcomed the prospect of Jones joining the club in a post on micro-blogging site Twitter. "Phil Jones is a good young English player. One of the toughest defenders I played against last season. Can play midfield too," Rooney wrote. Although United possess arguably the finest centre-back pairing in European football with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Ferguson is clearly planning for the future, particularly given Ferdinand's injury problems in recent seasons. Jones' Under-21 centre-back partner Chris Smalling broke into the United team earlier this year.