 THE CASEMIRO EFFECT

by Julian Tabone

It is fair to say it was only just the few of us, if anybody at all, who were expecting Casemiro to be a United player by the end of last Summer’s transfer window. And yet, as what’s become quite a characteristic of United lately, you have to expect the unexpected with this club. Especially when the comforting signs of long-term planning have invariably proved to be false dawns.

Whatever the case, Casemiro has been a positive and an important signing and indeed, he has made us play in a different way. He is after all one of the best midfielders in the world. He has won 5 Champions Leagues and countless other titles.

His play is very simple in the sense that he does not try to complicate things. He sits in front of the defence and does the covering for his team mates. He may not be glamorous and he is not the best dribbler you may see. He is not the quickest either while surging forwards but he brings a bit of defensive stability which we badly needed. He is a work-horse and is arguably way better than any holding midfield player we have tried in recent years.

He’s not young anymore, but I’d like to think he has still got a good three to four years left in him.

He works hard. He is quite robust but it seems he is adjusting quite well in the Premier League and crucially he also seems to be a fit‑in in Ten Hag’s plans.

And this has always been my main concern, ever since we first heard we were being linked with him last August. Was he in Ten Hag’s plans? It is now – following the latest revelations - no secret that Ronaldo, for instance, was not in Solskjaer’s plans. Could Casemiro have been the same? the money. He was after all, doubling his wages.

Personally, it was quite a surprise and it’s quite evident he was never part of the plan. If he had been in our plans, we would have got him in May or June and he would have cost much less.

The way things turned out in mid-August, with the talk of the club potentially being for sale and all that, the signing of Casemiro smacked of real desperation. I mean, we were being linked with him on Wednesday, and on Friday – less than 48 hours later – he was announced. After the season was already 2 weeks old, after weeks of speculation around Frankie De Jong and then Rabiot and then even Arnautovic, the club finally remembered they had the cash needed. Just like they did with Very rarely though, at least in the past 10-12 years, have United signed a player of such calibre with so little fanfare. But that is what happened with Casemiro. Whilst nobody objected to the signing, nobody was going to get carried away this time.

Not getting De Jong in the end meant getting Casemiro and most of us accepted that.

18 games and 1 (important) goal later, I am even more convinced that Casemiro should have signed for United… 3 years ago. His infectious play, his tenacity, his aggressiveness and his experience has precisely underlined what we have been missing. He indeed represents a significant upgrade to our current midfield set‑up. His stoppage‑time equaliser in Stamford Bridge and the celebrations that ensued encapsulate his total commitment and that is something that United fans appreciate.

For some reason, Brazilian players have not always excelled in a United shirt. Casemiro joins the likes of Rafael & Fabio Da Silva, Anderson, Fred, Andreas Pereira, Kleberson, Rodrigo Possebon and Alex Telles. A few days following his signature, Antony also joined. The fact that no other Brazilian has so far really won our hearts does not mean that Casemiro cannot necessarily make it.

We hope he can now lift the team but clearly he won’t be able to do it all on his own. In the past years, he’s been working in a winning set-up with the likes of Kroos and Modric. At United, he hasn’t really got that.

It has been the story at our club for the past few years, really.

We solve one area and we forget about the rest. Quite clearly, a weak strategy with little long term planning. We have been crying out for a defensive midfield player for the past couple of transfer windows. Now that we have found one, we badly need a striker and more.

It is clear we need to bring in 2 new strikers in the January transfer market. We needed replacement for Cavani in the Summer and we didn’t do that and now Ronaldo’s gone and we need a replacement for him as well.

Of course, in the mean-time, it has also been revealed the club is officially up for sale. That spells more uncertainty for me, at least until the issue is sorted once and for all.

Meanwhile, it is hoped Casemiro can carry on marshalling the midfield and protecting our defence until the team is properly strengthened. It is still too early to judge Casemiro in the United shirt, of course. But based on what we have seen so far, whether he was in the club’s plans or not, the omens are quite positive.