Breaking: Mourinho holds crunch meeting, United star will not be allowed to leave
Aug 30, 2016 at 11:33 AM
Manchester United will rebuff any pre-transfer deadline day offers for defender Marcos Rojo, according to reports.
The 26-year-old Argentina international defender was brought in from Sporting Lisbon by former boss Louis van Gaal in summer 2014 for a fee in the region of £16million.
Rojo has played mainly in the left-back role in his 53 appearances in all competitions for United, while he has also struggled with injury in his time at Old Trafford.
His chances of first-team football this season have been further restricted as Eric Bailly has been drafted into the defensive ranks by current boss Jose Mourinho.
Valencia are believed to be looking to take Rojo as a replacement for Arsenal-bound Shkodran Mustafi, but it appears they would struggle to match his current pay deal with the Red Devils.
And with United involved in the Europa League in addition to domestic commitments, reports claim Mourinho is keen to have Rojo available to call on and will, therefore, block a sale.
Initially, it was believed, seriously concerned with the quality of defenders in the squad the Portuguese inherited from Louis van Gaal, he is keen to add an experienced central defender and may also strengthen at right back.
For that, he had to reduce the number of senior players at the club before spending in the transfer market again.
The EPL giants signed Rojo out of a complicated third-party ownership contract on Van Gaal’s instruction after he caught the Dutchman’s attention with his performances for Argentina at the 2014 World Cup.
The deal involved a transfer fee to Sporting of €20million plus the subsidised season loan of Nani to the Portuguese club. Rojo, however, soon fell out with Van Gaal, making just 35 Premier League starts in two seasons working under him.
Mourinho has made one addition to his rearguard to date, signing Ivory Coast international Eric Bailly for an initial €35m with the aim of developing the 22-year-old into a top central defender.