Why Is Scott McTominay Starting Over Casemiro For Manchester United?

Most expected Casemiro to slot straight into the Manchester United. Signed from Real Madrid for a reported fee of €70m, the Brazilian gave Erik ten Hag something he seemingly lacked at that point in time – midfield structure. And yet Casemiro hasn’t been as integral to United’s side as many envisaged he would be.

Of course, it’s still early days for Casemiro at Old Trafford, but the 30-year-old has still to start a PremierPINC
League match for his new team, coming off the bench in three games. This is largely due to the strong form of Scott McTominay who has been preferred at the base of the Manchester United midfield so far this season.

McTominay has been an easy target for frustrated fans. The Scotland international is physically imposing, but lacks the technical ability to move the ball quickly in the centre of the pitch. However, ten Hag isn’t using McTominay to pass through the lines – he has Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes to do this.

Instead, McTominay is making United a more difficult team to play against, and play through. The 25-year-old won five tackles in the Europa League win over Sheriff Tiraspol – no player on either team won more – and also won eight duels. McTominay offers tenacity in midfield and ten Hag is getting the best out of him.

One area of McTominay’s game that has visibly improved since the change in manager at Manchester United is his positioning. The Scot has a better sense of where to position himself on the pitch to stop opponents from reaching the United defence behind him. McTominay is playing with confidence and Casemiro won’t find it easy to dislodge him.

It could be the case that ten Hag experiments with Casemiro and McTominay in the same midfield unit. This might require Fernandes to be sacrificed from the team, but against higher calibre opponents there could be a benefit to fielding two destroyers alongside each other in the one midfield.

Casemiro’s passing range gives him an advantage over McTominay, as does his experience at the elite level of the game. “He has won so many trophies in his career,” ten Hag said about the Brazilian. “He knows the road: how you win games and finally how you win trophies. We [now] have more players who have won already many trophies in their career. That has to be a guidance for the rest of the team so they know and they understand how to win games.”

Ten Hag signed Casemiro to instantly improve his team, but the arrival of the Brazilian international has also lifted the game of the player he was meant to replace. McTominay has proved his doubters wrong before and he is doing so again this season. The longer Casemiro stays out of the Manchester United, the better his Scottish teammate is performing.