SANDY, Utah -- Phil Jones has backed himself to win a regular place in the Manchester United team next season despite another expensive defensive addition at Old Trafford.
Jones has seen Jose Mourinho sign centre-back Victor Lindelof from Benfica in a £31 million deal this summer, which comes 12 months after the United manager signed Eric Bailly for £30m from Villarreal.
As well as Lindelof and Bailly, Jones also faces competition from Chris Smalling, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo, once the latter recovers from a knee ligament injury.
But after starting both of United's first two preseason games against LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, Jones is confident of his chances of first-team football -- if he can stay fit.
"Whoever I've played under -- [Sir Alex] Ferguson, [David] Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Mourinho -- if I've been fit then the majority of the time I've played," he told reporters.
"If there's competition, there's competition. There are some terrific defenders at the club. That's the way it should be as well. You want to test yourself against the best and with the best and that's what we've got here."
United have recorded two wins so far on their tour of the United States, but after conceding twice against LA Galaxy with a back three and once against Real Salt Lake with a back four, Jones says their defending must get better before the season starts.
"It was a sloppy goal [against Real Salt Lake] and we conceded two sloppy goals the other night, but we've got to look forward," he said. "We've got Manchester City on Thursday and we are looking forward to it."
Lindelof is not the only new face in the dressing room on the tour of the United States after United splashed £75 million on Romelu Lukaku.
Jones knows the striker well having played against him in the Premier League, the latest in the 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park in December.
Lukaku scored his first United goal in the 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake at the Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, and Jones has backed his new teammate to solve the goal-scoring problem that plagued the club last season.
"You can see he's a strong player. He's difficult for defenders to play against," he said. "You have to be cute against him, but he's going to be a handful for a lot of players this season.
"We are lucky to have him. Hopefully he can score a lot of goals for us. He's a terrific striker, he knows where the back of the net is. He adds something different to what we had last season.
"We're definitely a lot stronger this year. We've recruited well, big Rom up front is a threat, a handful. Victor has come in and looks like he's been here for five years now. We're positive and looking forward to it."
United have remaining preseason games against City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valerenga and Sampdoria before the UEFA Super Cup and start of the Premier League in August.
Jones added: "Last season was disappointing in the league but we won the Europa League so that wasn't bad. This year we definitely have to start challenging for the title, there's no question about it. But I think we can definitely do it with this squad.
"Hopefully this season every time another team steps out at Old Trafford they know they are in for a tough time. I think we have seen that last season. Albeit we drew too many at home, but we will put that right this season and we are looking forward to it."