Why Everton did a smart job by walking away from the Marcos Rojo deal

According to a report from The Sun, Manchester United outcast Marcos Rojo was braced to make a loan switch to Everton after being told he was free to leave.

However, a deadline day move to Goodison Park collapsed as the Toffees pulled the plug as Manchester United changed the terms of the Argentinian’s exit.

United broke the world-record transfer for a defender by signing Harry Maguire from Leicester City earlier this week. Given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his side concede 54 goals in 38 Premier League last season, he needed to address what was a glaring weakness and he’ll now hope that Maguire is that solution.

However, with competition for places already fierce at Old Trafford, Marcos Rojo seemingly fell further down the pecking order, and as a result, eyed an exit on the deadline day.

Everton convinced Rojo to make the move to Goodison Park and he was fully prepared to make the last-minute transfer. But United refused to allow the Argentina international leave on loan and Everton could not agree on a price for a permanent deal.

Considering what happened, Everton have actually dodged a bullet by not signing the Manchester United defender.

Marco Silva had chased a centre-back all summer following the departures of Kurt Zouma and Phil Jagielka. He was very much optimistic of re-signing Zouma, who was excellent on loan from Chelsea last season.

However, Chelsea’s transfer ban poured cold water on any such deal. That saw the Portuguese tactician scramble for alternatives and wanted to sign Rojo on Thursday.

United bought Rojo from Sporting Lisbon in 2014 under then-manager Louis van Gaal. But the Argentinean has failed to live up to the expectations at Old Trafford due to recurrent injury problems over the last few seasons.

The 29-year-old has been restricted to just 14 Premier League appearances over the past two seasons due to a combination of inconsistent form and a string of niggling injuries.

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The move to Everton would have made sense for Rojo but Silva’s side would have landed an inconsistent, injury-prone defender with poor positional awareness and understanding of the game.

The Toffees’ failure to sign a central defender will now mean Yerry Mina, who had a shaky first season in English football, to step up into Silva’s starting line-up.

Verdict

By considering everything, Everton missing out on Rojo is a blessing in disguise.