Will Marcos Rojo Be Able to Solve United's Defensive Problems?

Prior to the World Cup, very few people would have even heard of former Estudiantes and Sporting CP defender Marcos Rojo. However, due to the limited depth in defense, Rojo was called up to the Argentinian side by now ex-coach Alejandro Sabella. After a series of dazzling displays, Rojo emerged as a top left-back, who could maraud his way down the left flank, or intercept passes due to his agility. Now, Rojo is on his way to Old Trafford, a place which has seen plenty of exits but just a couple of entries. With a opening day defeat to Swansea, in which the lack of squad depth was clearly evident. This raises the question, can Marcos Rojo, a 24 year old defender, be the man to solve United's defensive 'crisis'?

Manchester United have finally reinforced their back line

Marcos Rojo definitely caught a few eyes with his performances at the World Cup, including Manchester United's boss Louis van Gaal's, whose team he played against in the semi-finals. Rojo impressed so much that he was named in quite a few Team of the Tournaments, including Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone's.

With experienced players like captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra all shown the exit door, Manchester United were in desperate need for a new defender this summer. Mind boggingly, they did not realize this until now, meaning they had to play an extremely young, inexperienced (and some may even call 'weak') side against Swansea, ultimately leading to their loss.

The defense in that game was utterly shambolic, as Phil Jones was the only centre-back out of the three starting on that day which actually managed to impress. With the squad only having young Tyler Blackett as their sole left footed centre-back, Rojo will be a very important cog in the side.

Rojo will bring pace and oddly creativity to United's back-line, as the Argentinian international loves getting on the ball and making runs forward. This was evidently lacking against Swansea, with Chris Smalling looking very uncomfortable on the ball and opting to bash the ball forwards instead of playing it on the ground, giving away possession quite cheaply.

More importantly, Rojo will definitely improve the squad depth of Manchester United, a team which is already suffering plenty of injuries and is having to rely upon youngsters like Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard to fill in at the back.

Although I believe United should have been more proactive this summer, and definitely brought in a marquee centre-back similar to either Hummels or Mehdi Benatia, which is clearly needed after the departures of Vidic and Ferdinand, Rojo is a decent buy for the team. His versatility will be very useful this season, as he can do more than a decent job at left-back or left-wing back. Now, Manchester United need to go on and add a couple more signings to their 'thin' squad. A central midfielder should now be a top priority, along with another defender, realistically Manchester City's Nastasic or Ajax's Daley Blind, another versatile young player who can also play in the defensive midfield role.

Article Written By: Mayank Tiwary. Follow Me on Twitter