Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim heaps praise on Casemiro who has now become a fundamental part of the tactical jigsaw.
The Real Madrid legend endured a torrid first half of the season, failing to cope with younger and faster opponents.
His dip in form saw him relegated to the bench for several months, but an injury crisis forced Amorim to resort to his services in recent weeks, and the Brazilian has been making the most of the opportunity.
The 33-year-old has been one of the club’s best performers as of late. He was also the main catalyst behind the sensational comeback against Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals, winning a spot-kick and producing two fabulous assists to turn the result upside-down.
Revitalised Casemiro re-emerges as Man United pillar
Casemiro was once again a protagonist on Thursday, scoring the opener for United in the 3-0 over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the semi-final. He almost came away with a brace, but was denied by the post.
Therefore, Amorim admits it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to drop Casemiro from his starting lineup.
“He has improved a lot, not just the way he plays, but the way he runs,” said the manager in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League contest against Brentford.
“He is a great example. Even Toby [Collyer] was sometimes playing in front of him. And now, it’s hard to take Casemiro. It’s a lesson for all the players at Manchester United. No matter what is the past or what happened in the last month, everything can change in one moment.”
Amorim tweaked his tactical system for Casemiro
Nevertheless, Amorim admits he had to make some tactical tweaks to accommodate the Brazil international who can no longer press high throughout the match.
“We understood he can no longer jump all the time, pressing high. So sometimes it’s better to let him be the fourth defender and then put the wingbacks pressing high, so these are small things we’re trying to understand, trying to cope with all the characteristics of all the team, but the credit is for Casemiro.”
The midfielder still has one year left on his contract, but INEOS are hoping to offload him, as he remains the club’s highest-paid player with a salary of £365,000 per week. Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ractliffe had branded him and four other MUFC players as ‘overpaid’ and ‘not good enough’.
Therefore, it remains to be seen if Amorim’s new stance on the revitalised star will impact the management’s decision come the summer.
Credit to Amorim for finding the right role for Casemiro who is no longer a young kid. For such a skillful and brainy midfielder Casemiro should be retained till his contract ends. Man U becomes a world class team when Casemiro is allowed to lead the team.
Casemiro’s temporary resurgence should not fool Amorim. He has done that before: playing very well towards the end of the year in his second season to avoid talks about his departure only yo slump again in the next season. Casemiro played all his football at Madrid and merely making huge money he can not show for at manutd.
Its great for Casemiro, believe luck of game time too contributed. Van nistelroy tried to give him game time, Amorin prejudged him not to be a starter and the Team spirit was broken when decided to bench him over and over. Please my best advise, let Amorin bring back Jadon Sancho, Antony and Rashford. They are playing well, let him talk to them smoothly, they can adapt to his new system and change manchester united team. Let him have Team B that will be strong to challenge once injuries occur, I feel is where The team drops rhythm because of injuries
Casemiro is an excellent player so finding where he can be most effective and make biggest contribution is what is important