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Man Utd would be foolish to let go of this 29-year-old defender despite Harry Maguire’s presence

Why Manchester United should keep hold of Marcos Rojo this season

Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is prepared to force a move away from the club in January if he fails to win a regular place in the first team.

The Argentine defender, 29, who joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2014, has fallen out of favour at the Theatre of Dreams.

He has made over 100 appearances for the Premier League club but endured a hugely frustrating campaign last season, making just two starts amid a number of injury problems.

Marcos Rojo came close to joining Everton over the summer, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to keep hold of the centre-back for the first half of the 2019-20 campaign.

However, the defender wants to win his place back in Argentina’s national squad ahead of upcoming World Cup qualifiers and the next Copa America, which is why he is ready to move on from United.

So, what should be Solskjaer’s play here? United broke the world transfer record for a defender in the summer by signing Harry Maguire from Leicester City. Maguire has made an instant impact at the club, seamlessly slotting into United’s defence besides Victor Lindelof.

The duo is Solskjaer’s first-choice centre-backs and have started the first four games of the new season.

Marcos Rojo

Rojo, meanwhile, has fallen below the pecking order after the arrival of Maguire. Despite the departure of Chris Smalling on loan to Roma last week and Eric Bailly out until January with a knee injury, the Argentinean is currently competing with Maguire, Lindelof, Tuanzebe and Jones.

Chances of regular first-team football this campaign are less, given Solskjaer has preferred Tuanzebe as back-up to Maguire and Lindelof.

It’s understandable why Rojo wants to leave Old Trafford. He is clearly not in the first-team plans of Solskjaer and has made just one appearance on the bench thus far.

Now, while the first-choice centre-back pair is doing well, Solskjaer could do with strength in depth on the bench. With the EFL Cup and Europa League games to follow after the first international break, the Norwegian will need to rotate his squad to keep his players fresh.

For that reason, the Red Devils cannot afford to lose a versatile defender like Rojo in January.

Having already shipped Smalling out on loan to Roma, there is no way Solskjaer should sanction the Argentinean’s sale in the midst of the campaign as injuries and suspensions often creep in a season’s second half.

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Despite not being the first-choice defender at the club, Rojo could turn out to be a solid squad player for Solskjaer if he manages to keep himself fit.

Verdict

Thus, we can conclude by saying that United should keep hold of the Argentinean international, at least for this season.