Manchester United Transfer News: Marcos Rojo Rejects 3 Clubs, Latest Rumours

Manchester United centre-back Marcos Rojo rejected three offers to leave Old Trafford in the final stages of the transfer window to stay and fight for his place at the club.

According to Sport Witness, Marseille, Monaco and Valencia were all keen on signing the Argentina international, who has yet to feature for the Red Devils so far this season. But Rojo decided to stick it out at United.

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Sport Witness quoted a source close to the player who suggested that despite reports to the contrary, talk of a breakdown in relationship between manager Louis van Gaal and the player is unfounded: “There is no problem with the manager. Marcos wants to recover his position in the first 11 and nothing else. Louis Van Gaal trusts Marcos and that’s all that matters.”

As noted by Sam Pilger of FourFourTwo, getting rid of Rojo at such a late stage in the window would have been a peculiar move for the Red Devils:

The centre-back was quietly impressive in his first term at Old Trafford and after a season getting used to the abrasive nature of the Premier League, seemed primed for a better campaign this time round. But Van Gaal has opted for Chris Smalling and Daley Blind as his centre-back pairing so far this season.

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Rojo will fancy his chances of getting back into the Red Devils team, though, especially in a position where the club don’t have much cover to call upon should injuries or suspension hit. As noted by Tom Coast of Sport Witness, there are areas of the group where talent is thinly spread:

One of those areas is at the sharp end of the pitch. Subsequently the Red Devils were linked to a host of strikers in the final stages of the summer window, including Queens Park Rangers hitman Charlie Austin, per Dominic King of the Daily Mail. 

The man himself revealed in the interview with King that after Rangers’ relegation, he was keen on getting a move to a Premier League side, but eventually decided to sit tight at Loftus Road:

"

I was thinking 'do I try and push this move through or do I sit tight?' so it became very hard,' he says. 'After the Charlton game, that was tough. Really tough. I said to my agent and my dad 'I don't know if I can do this'. I wasn't at 100 per cent, mentally or physically. I didn't think I could do it.

'I was just thinking 'I want to play in the Premier League now'. That is where I wanted to be after that game. It would have been easy for me to say to my agent 'I want out, let's get the ball rolling' but I had to be mentally strong and stick to what I wanted to do. I have made the right decision.

"

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In the end, United opted to draft in Anthony Martial from Monaco, agreeing a transfer that could top £58 million. The 19-year-old will certainly add dynamism to the Red Devils’ attack, but unlike a player such as Austin, he isn’t proven when it comes to sticking the ball in the back of the net in the Premier League.

Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe took a look at how Martial is likely to fare following his massive move to Old Trafford:

Austin may have been an underwhelming option for the Red Devils, but he certainly would have offered a more clinical presence in the attacking third. After all, he netted an impressive 18 goals in his 35 Premier League appearances last season, per WhoScored.com.

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With time ticking down in the transfer window, Bleacher Report’s Rob Blanchette admitted he would have been happy to see the QPR man brought in:

Although there were a plethora of teams linked with Austin—including the Red Devils, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, per King’s piece—he deserves credit for not forcing a move and sticking by the team who gave him a shot in the Premier League in the first place. 

United certainly could have done with his predatory instincts at the point of the attack and playing alongside Wayne Rooney would have been an intriguing proposition. But in Van Gaal’s preferred 4-3-3 system, Austin wouldn’t have possessed the technical skills or mobility to lead the line to the standard required.