Manchester United may have forked out \u00a370m to sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid yet the Brazilian’s arrival merely papers over some of the cracks at Old Tafford as they gear up to engage Liverpool on Monday.<\/p>\n
Liverpool legend Didi Hamann\u00a0 can still remember the days when it was well nigh impossible for most players to reject the chance of joining Manchester United. Yet presently this seems to no longer hold true judging from the difficulties United seem to be experiencing trying to convince new recruitments to sign up.<\/p>\n
Hamann is pretty sure Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro’s reason for leaving the Merengues to join Old Trafford is certainly not to win the Premier League. He has warned his former club to beware a United backlash when they travel to Manchester on Monday. The German – whose first season in England at Newcastle ended with Sir Alex Ferguson\u2019s team beating the Toon in the FA Cup final to clinch the second part of an historic Treble – is realistic that United’s future is bleak.<\/p>\n
\u201cCasemiro is a great player – you only have to look at what he has won at Madrid,\u201d said Hamann.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he isn\u2019t going to United to win the league, is he? We\u2019re only two games into the season and it\u2019s already obvious that United aren\u2019t going to be anywhere near the title race. They are years behind\u00a0Liverpool and Manchester City\u00a0– and they are losing ground on Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cSigning Casemiro is a small step forward – but he\u2019s not the answer. It is going to take years and years of backing Erik ten Hag in the transfer market before United are challenging for the big trophies again. But that\u2019s been obvious since [Sir Alex] Ferguson retired – and look at how many managers they have sacked in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Hamann himself had left Bayern Munich to join Newcastle in 1998, yet the seven seasons he spent at Anfield – where he won the Champions League, two FA Cups and two League Cups – were his finest. He knows fully well how the form book can amount to zilch when his former club faces the old enemy from Manchester. He also doesn\u2019t expect the Merseysiders to get such an easy ride this time despite Jurgen Klopp\u2019s men thrashing United by a 9-0 aggregate in the Premier League last season.<\/p>\n
Hamann said: \u201cLiverpool haven\u2019t had the best of starts, with two draws – and this is probably the last game they would have wanted at this stage. United have a much better team than their results. They will see this as an opportunity to get their own season up and running by going above Liverpool in the table. If Ten Hag gets his team selection and tactics right then he can make it very difficult for Klopp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the focus has been on (Cristiano) Ronaldo because he\u2019s made it clear that he wants to leave the club, but where would United have been without his goals last season? Ronaldo is a big-game player, someone who can make a difference. For me, the biggest problem for Ten Hag is Bruno Fernandes. I can\u2019t remember the last time I saw him do something other than wave his hands around in frustration. You can\u2019t have players doing that in games against Liverpool. Everyone has to put a full shift in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"