Erik ten Hag had one clear objective in his first transfer window in charge of Manchester United and that was to strengthen the midfield.
The middle third of the pitch had been a cause for concern for several years at Old Trafford but several summer departures in that area added urgency to the issue.
Christian Eriksen was the first to walk through the doors at Carrington and the Danish international has been terrific and undeniably, one of the signings of the season so far.
But the former Spurs star, who was sadly recently ruled out for at least three months, may be beaten to that prize by fellow summer signing Casemiro.
The 30-year-old has completely reformed United’s midfield and although supporters were familiar with his presence, very few of them would have predicted that he would have this type of impact.
Earlier on Wednesday, special praise was reserved for Casemiro by former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy. The talkSPORT pundit explained why he believes Chelsea overpaid for Enzo Fernandez after making the Argentine the most expensive Premier League footballer of all time, adding that he’s not at Casemiro’s level.
“I think they are overpaying for players and I still don’t think the majority of their first XI gets anywhere near City’s team,” Murphy told talkSPORT.
“Not really [impressed]. I watched a few of his games live. He’s decent, but not worth £100m. He’s a good midfielder, tenacious, young, gets on the ball and is brave. But he’s not Rodri, not Casemiro.”
SN’s verdict…
Casemiro had to wait for his first start at United but since then, he has not looked back and it’s to very little surprise that he’s already being regarded as one of, if not the, best in the division.
The only downside is that United should have signed him years ago but regardless, Ten Hag’s plan to revolutionise United’s midfield has gone swimmingly and Casemiro has been integral.
