Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has made a bold, if somewhat offensive, claim that Casemiro was ‘not a smart or shrewd’ signing by the Old Trafford club, despite the latter’s ‘devastating’ impact he has made on the pitch since his arrival.
The Brazilian has been pivotal in United’s revival this season, and has been dominant in midfield, someone that the club have been sorely in need of in recent years.
The former Real Madrid star’s brilliant display in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle was another clear indication of the positive contributions he had made at Old Trafford since making the £70m switch from the Los Madridistas.
That said, the Brazilian is now 31-years-old and Neville believes his former side’s focus should be on attracting younger players like Lisandro Martinez and Anthony whose prime years are still wat ahead of them.
When discussing United’s potential summer plans on The Overlap, he said: “I feel like Ten Hag is not going to sign [marquee names]. If new owners come in they’re going to want to make a statement, they’ll want to blow the transfer market open. I don’t think that will suit him.
“I think he’ll want those younger, hungrier ones that have still got that growth rather than the finished article.
“Casemiro obviously defeats that a little bit, but you look at Antony and Lisandro Martinez, they’re younger and hungrier.
“I think that’s the type of player he’ll want to add to this squad rather than saying, ‘Oh, Kylian Mbappe’s available or so-and-so is available’. But Casemiro, there’s no doubt – we all said it by the way – £60m? £70m? And £20m-a-year [contract] for five years is a £170m investment. That is a massive investment.
“It’s not a smart or shrewd signing when you look at it from a [big picture] point of view. None of us thought that.”
Casemiro, alonside Marcus Rashford, has lost no time in establishing himself as one of United’s most important players under tough-as-nails gaffer Erik ten Hag this season.
Although he missed the opening games to the season, it was evident the Brazilian makes United’s midfield much stronger when he is in his element in the center of the park.
Neville however did not withhold praise on Casemiro’s influence on the club, as he added: “The impact he’s having in the short term and what Manchester United need now, he’s devastating for the club in unbelievable ways.”
Ten Hag himself has been vocal in paying special tribute to Casemiro, in step with the latter’s teammates Raphael Varane and David de Gea, following their 2-0 win over Newcastle at Wembley on Sunday.
“They know how to win trophies,” the United manager said. “You need them on the pitch to organise the team, especially mentally and they have a winning attitude that they bring into the dressing room.”
Star striker Rashford was also full of praise for his team-mate Casemiro.
“He makes a huge difference,’ the England striker enthused.
“His leadership and experience is huge for us and when he’s on the pitch you feel that sense of security behind us.”
Clearly, as far as Neville is concerned, it’s all about wanting the cake and eating it, too.