How Casemiro will fit in to Man Utd XI with ex-Real Madrid star unleashing Fred and finally getting best out of him
JUST a few days ago there seemed little chance of Casemiro leaving Real Madrid.
Why would he want to rock the boat just a few months before the Qatar World Cup?
In an ideal universe, the offer from Old Trafford would have come in the January transfer window but that is not the way that things have worked out.
The horror show against Brentford has highlighted the urgency of Manchester United’s needs.
True, the long-term aim of Erik ten Hag may well be a dynamic, high pressing side – a model of play for which Casemiro is not a natural fit.
But the short term necessity is to balance out the side – a need which may extend into the next couple of seasons as United rebuild.
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Brazil coach Tite refers to Casemiro as his “competitive leader.” And it is certainly that type of temperament that United could do with at the moment.
The 30-year-old midfielder is not the quickest or the most mobile.
However, he has excellent awareness of what is going on around him allowing him to plug defensive gaps while also transferring the ball quickly and efficiently to the front players.
A fascinating aspect of Casemiro’s move to Old Trafford is the effect this could have on his Brazil midfield partner Fred.
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He is much maligned by the Premier League pundits and it is unfortunate that they do not see more of him for Brazil.
He is coming under pressure for his place from Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle, but for the time being Fred is first choice on merit after a sequence of good displays.
It is striking how much more freedom he enjoys when he wears the yellow shirt.
Fred, 29, is able to use his lung power to link up with the strikers, and even run beyond them.
Brazil’s coaching staff have a healthy admiration for him, as the type of unselfish player who makes those around him look better.
They also suspect that he can be too nice for his own good and has reigned in too much of his natural box-to-box game for Man Utd because he has been asked to do so.
The balance of Fred’s game could be about to change. There is no doubt now about who is going to do the holding midfielder.
Casemiro will sit in front of the back four, probably not too far away from the centre-backs. Once he has bedded in, the division of responsibilities will be much clearer. Casemiro holds, Fred can run on.
The ideal midfield trio of functions has one to get the ball, one to give it and one to go. In this case they win possession collectively, Casemiro gives the forward pass and Fred makes the forward burst.
The news of Casemiro heading to Manchester United has come as a huge surprise. Nowhere will that news have been greeted more warmly than in the house of United’s No.17 Fred.
