In the last week, Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has been linked with a move to Manchester United.
At first, the rumours were laughed at. “Why on Earth would he leave a Champions League-winning side for that absolute mess?”, queried many rival fans. But as the hours passed, the transfer has gradually become more and more likely. Now, it seems to be a done deal, with manager Carlo Ancelotti effectively confirming his exit.
This transfer has sparked a lot of debate online. There’s no doubting his quality, but is he worth the quoted €60 million fee? And is he the right signing for Man Utd at this time?
Let’s begin with the obvious positives. Casemiro is still one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. The Red Devils have been in dire need of an upgrade in this position for a while, especially following the departure of Nemanja Matic at the end of last season.
Not only is the Brazilian a clear improvement on Scott McTominay, but he could help get more out of some of his teammates. Fred plays alongside him on the international stage, and often plays his best stuff for the Selecao. In this instance, Casemiro takes the defensive load, giving Fred a bit more freedom.
Similarly, a top-class defensive midfielder will be a huge help to the centre-backs. Man Utd’s backline has been shaky (to put it generously) in the last year, and that’s partially down to a lack of protection.
It doesn’t matter how good your central defenders are – they still need help. Liverpool have several of the league’s best centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez, and yet they still have Fabinho in front of them. You can make a strong pairing out of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, and Nathan Ake, but they’d all struggle without Rodri.
Contrary to popular belief, Man Utd’s centre-backs aren’t bad at their job. In the right environment, they can perform well.
Raphael Varane was held in very high regard when he had Casemiro in front of him at Real Madrid, or N’Golo Kante for France. It’s no coincidence that Harry Maguire plays far better for England when he has a player like Declan Rice offering protection.
To put it simply, the midfielder ought to bring about instant improvement in Erik ten Hag’s side. This signing could put them back in contention for a top four spot this season, and may help them end their five-year trophy drought.
But that brings us to one of the potential down sides of this transfer. While Casemiro’s arrival will help in the short-term, there are question marks over his longevity.
The Real Madrid man is 30 years old. This doesn’t necessarily mean he’s over the hill – teammate Luka Modric is 36, and he’s still a world-class midfielder. But ultimately, there is the risk that he’ll soon be on the decline.
Man Utd already learned this lesson with Nemanja Matic. The Serbian had a great debut season at Old Trafford, but it soon became obvious that his best days were behind him. He still gave them five years of decent service, but the £40m spent on him could have been put to better use.
This type of short-term thinking has plagued the Red Devils over the last few years. Just look at some of the strikers they’ve signed since 2014: Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Odion Ighalo, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo. All of them were stop-gaps.
Some of these players excelled at Old Trafford for a season. But within a year or two, they needed replacing. Without a long-term option, the same issues will continue to pop up.
And that’s the problem they may face with Casemiro. He’ll give them an initial short-term boost, but they could soon find themselves in need of another defensive midfielder if he begins to decline.
Utd will have long-term aims which they should be building towards. Over the next five years or so, they should be hoping to challenge for the league title again. Casemiro probably won’t be able to contribute towards these goals.
This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if he was cheap, but he isn’t. They’re paying a huge fee and a huge salary to a player on the wrong side of 30. Much like Matic, they could easily find themselves wondering whether they should have spent that money on a younger option.
The timing of the move has also been brought into question. Man Utd haven’t been after a proper defensive midfielder for most of the transfer window, despite their obvious need for one. Instead, they’ve been chasing Frenkie de Jong for months. Only after seemingly giving up on the Dutchman have they pursued Casemiro.
Don’t get us wrong here – Casemiro likely fits Utd’s needs more than De Jong does. However, they’re completely different profiles. The former is a ball-winner, while the latter is more technical. It’s far from a like-for-like substitute.
It is believed that Ten Hag was desperate to bring De Jong to Old Trafford, as he considered the midfielder to be perfect for his system. So what is he going to do now? Is he going to abandon his plan to fit the Brazilian in? Or is he going to persist with a square peg in a round hole?
While Casemiro is a very good player, the signing seems like one that hasn’t been particularly well thought through.
That’s not to say that he’s doomed to fail. We could look back on this as an inspired purchase. It should be interesting to see how he does.
