After a successful trial period in the summer of 2011, Jones joined Latics permanently in August after being released by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It wasn’t long until the midfielder made his debut for the club against Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup in September 2011.
He made a positive impression on the first team and earned himself his Barclays Premier League debut just four days later against Everton.
Jones has composure on the ball and intelligence to slow the game down if needed in order to prevent attacks by the opposition.
He was initially deployed as a central midfielder in his initial games but a tactical shift subsequently saw him adjust to playing as a left wing-back, a job he did equally as well.
In his maiden season with Latics, he went on to play 16 times in the league, adding to his years of experience in and around the division.
Jones started his career just down the round in Manchester, developing through the youth ranks of Manchester United. As a youngster, he helped United win the FA Youth Cup and earned a cap for England’s under 21s.
He had three loan spells whilst at Old Trafford including at Preston North End, NEC Nijmegen and Derby County. The latter he subsequently joined on a permanent deal in 2007, helping them to gain promotion to the Premier League with six goals.
He went on to make 32 appearances over two season at Pride Park but found first team opportunities limited under ex-Latics manager Paul Jewell.
Jones was snapped up by Wolves at the end of the 2007/2008 season and successfully helped them to achieve promotion to the top flight. Over a three year spell at Molineux, he played 66 times scoring six goals in the process.