Marcos Rojo Confirms Plans to Leave Manchester United in January in Search of Game Time
By Tom Gott
Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo has revealed that he will push to leave the club in January if he is not given regular game time.
The Argentine was linked with Everton during the summer, but ended up remaining at Old Trafford. However, he appears well behind both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire in the pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rojo is yet to make a first-team appearance this season so, speaking whilst on international duty with Argentina (via The Mirror), Rojo confessed that he intends to push for an exit if his place in the national team comes under threat.
He said: "I had the possibility of Everton, but by decisions of the club or the manager it wasn’t possible. Now I have to fight until December and if it doesn’t work out, I will try to leave.
"I talked to [Argentina manager Lionel] Scaloni, he told me that he was happy because in the pre-season I had played many games, that I looked good and that’s why he called me, but that I had to play.
"The qualifiers and the Copa America are coming and I want to be part of that. I don’t want to be out again, I want to exhaust all the possibilities and compete to be here.”
With Chris Smalling sealing a loan to Serie A side Roma during the summer, there is one less centre-back for Rojo to compete with. However, alongside both Lindelof and Maguire, Solskjaer still has Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe at his disposal, so game time will not be easy to come by.
Rojo was not even included in United's matchday squad for their opening three games of the current Premier League season, but was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Southampton.
It was a similar story for the Argentine last season. A combination of injuries and lack of form saw Rojo make just six appearances in all competitions, and he ultimately lost his place in the international setup, with his last outing for his country coming at the 2018 World Cup.
However, after impressing during pre-season with United, he has earned his place in the Argentina squad, and Rojo is clearly desperate not to lose that spot again.