Cape Town - Friday’s signing of Real Madrid’s legendary Brazilian midfield kingpin Casemiro could just be the tonic that Manchester United need to kickstart what has so far been a disastrous start to Erik ten Hag’s tenure as manager of the record 20-times English champions.
Shambolic transfer activity, uncertainty over Cristiano Ronaldo’s future and successive defeats in their two opening Premier League games have seen the Dutch manager endure a baptism of fire at the start of his first season in the Red Devils’ dugout.
If a 2-1 home reversal to Graham Potter’s spirited Brighton & Hove Albion in the opening match of the 2022/2023 Premier League sounded the alarm bells over the need to act decisively in the transfer market, then last weekend’s 4-0 first-half drubbing by lowly Brentford was the shock that has necessitated decisiveness such as the Casemiro acquisition.
The inferno could worsen for the struggling Dutchman with Liverpool visiting Old Trafford tomorrow night, with the five-time Uefa Champions League winning defensive midfielder highly unlikely to feature in what is expected to be a tense night for the home fans at the Theatre of Dreams.
The signing of the 63-capped Brazilian international was the good news the Red Devils have been crying out for throughout the transfer window, with a world-class defensive midfielder having long been a desire for the club’s fanbase.
The acquisition of the 30-year-old hardman from the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo is expected to see United engage in frantic transfer activity in the remaining 10 days of what has until now been a transfer window to forget for United’s global legion of fans.
A veteran of 336 Real Madrid appearances in the nine he spent at the Santiago Bernabeu, Casemiro brings a wealth of experience, having also won 20 senior trophies at club and international level, with 18 of those coming in the pristine white colours of the record 14-time European Cup winners.
The club has spent a considerably large part of the transfer window chasing cash-strapped FC Barcelona midfield star Frenkie de Jong, despite the Dutch international’s repeated insistence that he had no desire to leave the Camp Nou.
It had been expected that having worked under Ten Hag in a successful spell at Ajax Amsterdam, his presence as United boss would be the drawcard that would entice De Jong to reunite with his compatriot on the red side of Manchester.
However, it has not been as straightforward as that, as De Jong has refused to leave Barcelona despite United and the Catalan club having long rumoured to have agreed to a deal for the 25-year-old midfield conductor.
Attempts by the Spanish giants to push De Jong out of the club, including legal action over the make-up of the first contract that he penned with the club in July 2019, have proved futile as the Dutchman insists on staying on at Barca on his current wages, despite the club insisting on a wage reduction.
United clearly needs to move from their futile pursuit of the Dutchman and focus their energies on landing at least one more central midfielder and there is no better option currently than Italian Serie A club Lazio’s towering Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-savic.
We are delighted to have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of @Casemiro 🇧🇷#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 19, 2022
Despite his obvious physical acumen, a necessity for the demanding rigours of the English game, the Spanish-born 27-year-old Milinkovic-savic oozes class in central midfield and exhibits the traits of a complete modern player with his strong defensive and offensive ability where he chips in with a decent amount of assists and goals.
His signing would also likely lighten the load on United’s goal-scoring attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who seemed overburdened at times last season.
The club has also been linked with moves for Dutch Eredivisie-based wingers Antony and Cody Gakpo of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven respectively, while there has also been talk of Chelsea’s American playmaker Christian Pulisic making a switch to Old Trafford on a season-long loan.
Ten Hag has also been known to desire a striker at the club, despite insisting that Cristiano Ronaldo would be staying on, and the reality is that if United is to win a first trophy in five years, they need as many quality players as possible in the make-up of their squad.
The Premier League title, which has eluded them since Sir Alex Ferguson won their 13 Premier League gong and their 20th English topflight crown overall and subsequently retired, is clearly an unlikely target this season, given the quality of both Manchester City and Liverpool.
However, United should be able to push for a top four place, which would earn them a return to the Champions League, while the Europa League could also be used as another avenue to secure a return to the big table of European football’s elite clubs.
Tomorrow night’s visit of Jurgen Klopp and his Reds is the litmus test of the ages for United, and a loss to their bitter rivals more than likely will pile more pressure and misery on Ten Hag.
But the club will need to realise that this instalment of the rebuild they have been attempting since 2013 will need more patience than given to Ferguson’s successors, including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
IOL Sport