Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones are facing a tough battle to save their Old Trafford career.
The Argentine international was brought by former Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal in 2014. After starring in the centre-back position, injuries and lack of fitness saw a drop in performance at the end of his debut season.
Rojo’s second season was tough as he struggled with injuries and poor display on the left-back position saw him receive criticism from a section of supporters. Jones has hardly featured for the 20-time English champions in this calendar year.
According to the Manchester Evening News, both Rojo and Jones will have time until August 31 to impress their new manager, Jose Mourinho. The former Chelsea boss was announced as United manager in May and he took charge at the club earlier this month. He has had a chance to take a closer look of the current crop of players and will plan to reshape United’s squad for the new season.
The versatile defenders featured in the two pre-season fixtures and both have failed to impress the Portuguese coach. Their performances in United’s 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund has forced Mourinho to bring in another centre-back in the current transfer window, despite already signing Eric Bailly from Villarreal.
Rojo and Jones are running out of time to impress Mourinho as Chris Smalling, who did not feature in any of the pre-season matches could start alongside the Ivory Coast international against Galatasaray in Sweden this Saturday.
United manager already has several options in the centre-back positions. The list includes the likes of Axel Tuanzebe, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Daley Blind, along with Smalling and Bailly, if Jones and Rojo are shipped out of the club in the current transfer window.
Another report from the Manchester Evening News suggests that United are also considering the option of signing Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus. The Italian international has been impressive for both his club and country, with his latest efforts coming in the recently concluded Euro 2016 in France.
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