Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is reportedly in talks with Turkish club Fenerbahce for a loan spell with the club. The 29-year-old is a player that United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to offload after his move to Everton broke down on deadline day. Turkish newspaper, Posta has reported the news, via Sport Witness.
The Turkish club signed Huddersfield Town defender Mathias Zanka last week with the club looking for another central defender. It was suggested that Fenerbahce was interested in signing Roma defender Aleksandar Kolarov as he could play as both a left-back and a central defender but the Italian club did not want to let him leave, hence the interest in Rojo.
Rojo still has two-years remaining on his contract, plus the option of a further year and instead of him having next to no playing time this season, the club would rather get him off the wage bill, on loan, at least until the next transfer window, whether it be in January or next summer, where Solskjaer will be seeking to sell the Argentinian once again.
The transfer window in Turkey does not close until the 2 September 2019, giving around three weeks before the closure of the window to get something sorted. Obviously, Rojo will want to be playing football regularly, which is something he may not get at United, even playing as an overage player in the U23 squad.
With the arrival of Harry Maguire this summer, Rojo’s minutes on the pitch will have been decreased considerably, even with the fact that Eric Bailly is out of action until Christmas because of a knee injury. Axel Tuanzebe will have also taken minutes off Rojo with his performances in pre-season and the fact Solskjaer wanted him to stay this summer.
It basically suggests that Rojo has, in effect, no future at the club. United have many central defenders at the club this season with Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also, giving Solskjaer many players to choose from. Of course, Maguire and Lindelof were partners against Chelsea with Tuanzebe on the bench.
Even at left-back, which is a position Rojo has played many times, he does not seem to fit in as Luke Shaw seems to be the first choice in the position with Ashley Young and Diogo Dalot both able to play in that position and both seemingly ahead of Rojo in the pecking order. Solskjaer will probably see younger players ahead of Rojo in the pecking order.
Last season, Rojo made just six appearances for United; three under Jose Mourinho, starting twice and that under Solskjaer, starting once. He played a total of 256 minutes out of a possible 540 minutes. It was clear that he was a player who had lost his stature at the club. He did miss 20 matches through injury last season though.
Solskjaer obviously does not see a player like Rojo in his plans in which he wants to bring in younger players, preferably British players, to return the club to the glory days of old. It is very refreshing to see although getting rid of these players will be the tough option with them on good contracts with a high rate of pay each week.
