Casemiro Shows Why He Should Start More Regularly Under Erik Ten Hag At Manchester United

It might have taken five PremierPINC
League games for Casemiro to start his first one since arriving from Real Madrid, but the wait was worth it as Manchester United fans saw how transformative he could become to this team.

There has been no denying that the Red Devils have been in dire need of an out-and-out defensive midfielder for multiple years now, with Scott McTominay and Fred providing the midfield axis under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It was clear after just several games that those two could not take control of games while in midfield together, yet Solskjaer persisted with it and saw his team, on a regular basis, become overpowered by what was put up in front of them.

The arrival of Christian Eriksen has been a hugely welcomed one to bolster Erik Ten Hag’s midfield, providing more composure and zip on the ball, but Casemiro’s assured performance against Everton away from home showed why his signing was a crucial one.

Bought from Real Madrid for £60 million in the summer transfer window, Casemiro, quite obviously, brings with him a bagful of experience playing at one of the best clubs in the world, winning major honour after major honour.

Ten Hag has repeatedly said the importance of blooding Casemiro in slowly, not just shoehorning him into the team without getting the necessary minutes first to adapt to the Premier League.

There have been times, and was again against Everton, where Casemiro has dwindled on the ball for too long or not realised the pace of the Premier League; but whenever he makes a small error of judgement, his reactions to correct it are second to none.

Just take the winning goal and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 700th in club football as an example. The Brazil international is dispossessed in his own half, but quickly recovers and makes an important tackle on Alex Iwobi. At the first time of asking, Casemiro gets the ball out of his feet and feeds an in-behind through ball into the path of Ronaldo, who takes it into the box and puts it past Jordan Pickford.

With Casemiro’s defensive abilities and synchronicity with Ronaldo, it is an unbelievably useful asset to have in the team breaking up play and getting Manchester United back on the front foot in one quick motion.

The defensive midfielder will be gutted with himself for not burying Rashford’s curling cross into the back of the net when the game was poised at 1-1. It was a sensational late run, a la Frank Lampard, but the Brazilian just nestled the header wide in what would have opened his account for the Red Devils.

With games coming thick and fast for the rest of the month – with emphasis on three important Premier League matches against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC – it was a wise move from the Dutch manager to get Casemiro up to speed with his first 90 minutes in the league.

It is clear that the number six role is Casemiro’s to lose. Manchester United bought him to shield the defence and release the ball into the creative players quickly, which he has shown in a short amount of time.

Big games are approaching and the Red Devils need the Brazilian more than ever to shine through.