Man United suddenly have a genuinely concerning Casemiro issue to deal with.
Last term, Casemiro was among Manchester United’s three best players, along with Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford. We were treated to some genuinely brilliant performances from the Brazilian, who offered a long-term struggling midfield a new lease of life.
This season has been a totally different story. The harsh reality of football at the highest level jolted us right back down to earth in the cruellest way possible.
Without wanting to sound too brutal, Casemiro has gone from a Champions League elite to someone who’d struggle to play in the Championship in the space of about six months. The downfall has been super sad to witness.
Casemiro was never blessed with blistering pace, though suddenly, he now looks like he’s constantly running through treacle. A once-great defensive midfielder now looks nothing more than an innocent bystander, as his opposite number glides past him time and time again.
He’s still scored some vital goals this term, which has been a minor saving grace, but on the whole, Casemiro looks like he’s aged overnight. It is now becoming a major issue for United – and the problem needs sorting immediately.
It’s tough to gauge whether Casemiro’s body has let him down, or his mind. Perhaps he’s now starting to realise that this isn’t the fairytale move to a gigantic football club he was promised. The harsh reality is that this currently constructed United side is anything but. It must be tough to take for a serial winner like him. Perhaps he’s just thrown in the towel mentally? I’d sort of understand it, though that doesn’t make it right.
I’m just astounded at how quickly it has all unfolded. Casemiro has gone from making United competitive, to being the key factor in their downfall. Daft, rash decisions, poor in the tackle, slow, sloppy. It has been pretty damning.
You can somewhat give him the benefit of the doubt over the last few weeks due to the fact he has been playing at centre-half. The few months before that, though, we cannot let slide.
The next issue for United is to try and find a willing buyer. This is a man on massive wages, with four years left on contract. Casemiro would be well within his rights to refuse any move away, as he continues to collect his money. That’s United’s fault. Not his.
I would assume there’d be Saudi interest in the ex-Real Madrid man. Is that a move he’d want to make? I’m not sure. They’d be the only entity daft enough to offer Case a wage increase over an equally-long contract.
Either way, if there’s any chance that United can move on from Casemiro, it’s an opportunity they should grab with both hands. Guttingly, this is not the once world-class footballer we all fell in love with last season.
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