Nemanja Vidic would not swap any of Liverpool's defenders for Manchester United's current crop, implying that Virgil van Dijk is not better than Phil Jones.

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has insisted that he would not swap the club's current defence for any players from this weekend's opponents Liverpool.

Despite an upturn in fortunes since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge two months ago, the Red Devils still remain weak at the back and have been linked with numerous defensive targets.

Phil Jones in particular has had to deal with criticism throughout his eight years at Old Trafford, but Vidic believes that the Englishman, along with the likes of Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly, are at least on a par with anything Liverpool - who have £75m centre-back Virgil van Dijk in their ranks - have to offer.

"Well done to him to come back. It's not easy, especially playing for Man United, big club, to not start that well and have criticism from the media," he is quoted as saying by talkSPORT. "To come back from that and now perform well, it shows some character as well, which is important if you want to play for Man United.

"He has some quality definitely. He has done really well. I think Phil Jones did well in the recent games he played, Chris Smalling is a good defender, Bailly as well. I think we have four solid defenders and with the right match I think they can perform to the best of their capabilities.

"Overall, I said even before when they didn't have great games, if you look at the other teams, I would not have any defenders of Liverpool or Chelsea, I don't think they have better defenders than we have. I think now the team is playing better, they have more confidence and there will come even better matches from them."

Liverpool have conceded just 15 goals this term, compared to the 35 shipped by United.