In January if you would have been speculating that an Irish defender would have been leaving Manchester United to join Sunderland in the summer, most United fans would probably have put forward Jonny Evans as that man to depart Old Trafford for the north-east.

Despite recovering well in the final third of the season when called upon, it would be fair to say that last season was certainly one that Evans will not want to remember fondly as several early-mistakes set his confidence back.

His performances seemed somewhat nervy, whether it was because of the added pressure of partnering club captain Nemanja Vidic in the heart of our defence or whether he was struggling with his own game, no-one really can be sure other than Jonny or Sir Alex Ferguson.

Of course after the New Year, he lost his place in the pecking order as the ‘next in line’ behind Rio Ferdinand and Vidic to Chris Smalling whose form in the second half of the season was exceptional. So when rumours first crept about that Sir Alex was interested in signing Phil Jones from Blackburn, the writing initially at first appeared to be on the wall for Evans.

The gossip-pages of the papers had the Northern-Irishman linked with moves to Sunderland and Wolves. When news broke about Steve Bruce lodging a bid reported to be around £12million for three United players, you would have understood if some fans had believed that Evans was one of those players who the former United-captain would want at the Stadium of Light.

However of course Evans was not one of the three that Bruce wanted as United stalwarts Wes Brown, John O’Shea and midfielder Darron Gibson were later revealed to be the players wanted to freshen up Sunderland’s side.

As we know, both Brown and O’Shea (who turned out to be the Irish defender who would join Sunderland) completed their moves in July with Gibson’s deal not being completed due to a breakdown in communication regarding the midfielder’s wage demands.

There was no surprise that Brown had departed as his last season at United was a frustrating one as he suffered from injury problems and never really got a look-in the whole season due to the competition for places at the back.

O’Shea’s exit was a surprise as despite the Republic of Ireland international being on the sidelines; it was thought that his versatility as a ‘utility’ player – who was comfortable in playing in a number of positions – would have kept him onboard until at least the end of his contract, which was due to run out next June.

Despite fans understanding that for O’Shea the move to Sunderland was a good one, as he would be a guaranteed starter under Bruce, many fans felt that he still had something to offer the side and was a more ‘valuable’ player than Evans, who perhaps needed a fresh start more to get his confidence back.

Sir Alex of course still believes in Evans and the fact he has handed him the number 6 shirt (which was left vacant by Brown), which so many great defenders have worn at Old Trafford shows that he believes in his quality and that he can fully develop into the kind of player that he was once spoken about of doing so.

Perhaps over the last year or so, fans and the media have been quick to write of Evans who still is only 23 years old. Most players don’t reach their peak until they are 26-30 so it’s understandable that for someone so young he has made mistakes.

Even the best defenders in the world (Rio, John Terry, Sergio Ramos) make mistakes and all of them particularly early on in their career despite being highly-rated made errors. Good players learn from their mistakes and clearly one season has not made Evans a bad player.

Despite one moment in the game against Spurs on Monday where he somehow misread the ball allowing Rafael van der Vaart a run on goal (which thankfully came to nothing), he looked very confident and along with Phil Jones at the back impressed making several fine interceptions and blocks to deny Harry Redknapp’s side really threatening David De Gea in goal.

There are still doubts as to whether he is really quick enough to be a first-choice for United, but he’s by no means a ‘slow-coach’ and was able to hold off the threat of Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon who are known for their blistering pace.

This is a big season for Evans as with doubts still persisting about whether Ferdinand can last a full season, there does appear to be a fight for the central defensive birth next to Vidic. Jones after the 18 months he’s had in the Premier League certainly appears to be the favourite to partner the Serbian long-term, but the Ulsterman might not be as far away from United’s new £17million man as most doubters would think.

By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87