Manchester United have landed Real Madrid star midfielder Casemiro in the ongoing summer transfer window.
United manager Erik ten Hag has been desperate to land a defensive midfielder since taking charge at Old Trafford and has finally settled for the Real Madrid defensive midfielder after failing to sign Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Juventus’s Adrien Rabiot.
Casemiro earns around £184,000 per week at the Santiago Bernabeu and United were prepared to double that. Casemiro has played over 300 times for the Los Blancos (stats via transfermarkt) and has been part of five Champions League successes at the club.
The 30-year-old signed a four-year deal at United with wages of around 18 million euros per year. British media said United had closed on a deal worth up to 70 million euros for Casemiro, who has 63 caps for Brazil.
Player Profile
Casemiro is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at the moment. He plays in the heart of Real Madrid and Brazil’s midfield, having the function of a destroyer. He has a great awareness of closing down threatening attacks. The Brazilian also has great aerial ability and is a high-volume tackler, shown by his number of challenges and fouls.
Ten Hag’s ideal defensive midfielder slots between the centre-backs when needed to receive the ball from the keeper or the centre-back and progress it forward.
Casemiro, according to FBRef, has averaged just over three progressive carries per 90 minutes in his previous three seasons for Real Madrid. He ranks in the 35th percentile with respect to carries, in a team that routinely possesses the ball for 60% of the game. He is often criticized for being a poor passer of the ball, and is a liability when it comes to progressing the ball against a high-pressing team.
However, the midfielder is one of the best at covering his teammates when they are out of position and even moves into the full-back areas to stop attacks.
In terms of playing style, he has been compared to the legendary Real Madrid defensive midfielder Claude Makelele, though Casemiro’s positional sense and determination mark him out as one of the best in the business. Casemiro does score the occasional goal, especially from long range. His best-ever tally in La Liga was six goals back in 2020-21.
🚨 Official, confirmed: Casemiro to Manchester United from Real Madrid is done and completed, Spanish club statement announced. #MUFC
Casemiro will be unveiled in the next few days as new Man Utd signing, all documents are signed.
Contract confirmed: 2026, further year option. pic.twitter.com/GKqBw06cSF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 19, 2022
Read More:
- Manchester United Pull Out of Deal For Serie A Forward After Having £7.6m Bid Rejected
- Manchester United Make Enquiry For £54.8m Rated Bundesliga Star
- Three Very Essential Decisions United Got Wrong In Their Shock Defeat Against Brighton
United, who sit bottom of the Premier League after embarrassing defeats against Brighton and Brentford, are set to pay an initial 60 million pounds for the incoming Brazilian midfielder.
Casemiro has won 17 major honours in his illustrious career including 5 Champions League titles and the 2019 Copa America. He will add a winning mentality to a United side which hasn’t won a trophy in five years. Casemiro is a great midfielder and is amongst the best at what he does – which is to protect the ball carrier or distribute the ball to his teammate.
Aurelien Tchouameni’s arrival had placed doubts over Casemiro’s role in Real Madrid. This move might be a new challenge for Casemiro to revive the Red Devils back to their former glory days.
While Casemiro can become a cog in the Manchester United midfield, it’s hard to see how he can fix the true problems that plague this team. He can be a disruptor to opposition teams playing the ball into United’s final third. But it’s the lack of effect that he brings on the possession aspect of football that should really worry about this transfer.
Follow AD for the Latest Transfer Updates for Manchester United.
