‘He has spoken with Riquelme’ — Marcos Rojo believes Edinson Cavani will join him at Boca Juniors this summer
Former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo believes Edinson Cavani will join him at Boca Juniors this summer.
Cavani, 34, signed a season-long contract with Manchester United in October after leaving last season’s Champions League runners-up Paris Saint-Germain.
Since relocating to Old Trafford the seasoned Uruguayan has impressed with his instinctive finishing, so far notching eight goals across 29 games in all competitions.
His most recent exhibition of goalscoring prowess came in the club’s 3-1 win over Tottenham, first seeing his deadlock-breaking finish controversially chalked off by VAR, before firing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side 2-1 ahead, with Mason Greenwood putting the gloss on a excellent turnaround in stoppage time.
Such has been Cavani’s presence in opposition territory that he also currently ranks second in the Premier League for most headed goals (five), just behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin (six), which serves well to highlight the full breadth of his attacking palette.
As we inch ever closer towards the conclusion of the campaign, focus will slowly start to shift towards summer activity, and there remains a few question marks in Solskjaer’s squad, chiefly the future of Cavani, whose current deal expires in June.
Only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (6) has scored more headed goals than Edinson Cavani (5) in the Premier League this season.
71% of his Premier League goals have been scored with his head. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/SCobZjZK5z
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 11, 2021
Sunday’s showing against Spurs proved the Uruguayan is still more than capable of competing at the highest echelon of the game, and while some fans may be hopeful of the 34-year-old extending his stay, ex-Man Utd defender Rojo believes he is destined to return to South America this summer.
“I talk a lot with Cavani. We were together for about four or five months in Manchester but he’s a great person and we have a good relationship,” the defender told ESPN Argentina.
“When I came here he asked how I was doing, if I was having a good time, because he saw everything I went through in England.
“It’s important that great players, the size of Cavani, who is a historical player from Uruguay and who played in very great teams, say they want to come and play at Boca. I think he speaks very well of the club and Argentine football.
”When I told him that there was the possibility of coming to Boca, he told me that he had also spoken with Roman [Riquelme] and that he liked the option very much, that he would be interested in the future. He has to make that decision with his family.”
Former Man Utd defender Gary Neville has backed Cavani to remain at Old Trafford for at least another season, believing the experienced striker is the ideal ‘mentor’ for Mason Greenwood.
Speaking after the Spurs win, Neville said: “Tottenham had a throw with two minutes to go, and Cavani was moving between the centre-backs trying to stop the ball from being thrown in, and he’s organising where [Mason] Greenwood should be. I thought: ‘Greenwood needs another year of Cavani being alongside him’.
“It inspired us as young players when you saw great players like Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce and Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes. And you see the best players in the world, or those who have been the best in the world like Cavani, doing his work like that in the 94th minute, someone like Mason Greenwood, who needs people who are mentors, good standards above him, who can coach him on the pitch. I just thought him and Marcus Rashford need another year of Cavani.”
