The Brazilian enjoyed an impressive debut season at Old Trafford, but his powers appear to be on the wane in 2023-24
Casemiro is one of the best midfielders of his generation – a status he cemented after bringing the curtain down on his illustrious Real Madrid career to join Manchester United. He was the driving force behind United's run to a third-place Premier League finish and Carabao Cup glory in 2022-23, with club legend Gary Neville describing his impact as "devastating".
There was a caveat to Neville's assessment, though. "£70 million ($85m) and £20m-a-year [contract] for five years is a £170m investment," he said on back in March. "That is a massive investment. It’s not a smart or shrewd signing when you look at it from a [big picture] point of view."
Casemiro, who will turn 32 in February, is contracted to remain at Old Trafford until 2026, and there is an option to extend that agreement by an extra year. The man described as "the cement between the stones" by Erik ten Hag was supposed to be United's long-term midfielder enforcer.
It should be a cause for great concern, then, that Casemiro's body seems to failing him just 11 games into the new season. The Red Devils have lost six of those matches, which is why they are now languishing down in 10th in the Premier League table and in real danger of exiting the Champions League at the group stage.
There is plenty of blame to go around, but Casemiro's decline has created the biggest problem for Ten Hag, who may need to take drastic action if he is to revive United's fortunes in the coming weeks.
Getty'I wanted more football'
United were on course for a third-successive home defeat against Brentford on Saturday, with Mathias Jensen giving the visitors a half-time lead. There were poor performances across the pitch for Ten Hag's side in the opening 45 minutes, but Casemiro was the worst of the bunch.
It was his misplaced pass to Bryan Mbeumo that set Brentford on their way to the opening goal, but he was also guilty of wasting possession on numerous other occasions. The Brazil international was equally poor without the ball as United were overrun and outfought in midfield, leaving Ten Hag with little choice but to make a change.
Casemiro was taken off for Christian Eriksen at the interval, which led to an improvement from United in the second period. Ten Hag continued to ring the changes as the match wore on, with Scott McTominay eventually making the decisive impact after replacing Fiorentina loanee Sofyan Amrabat.
The Scotland midfielder scored two stoppage-time goals to give United a crucial victory – and Ten Hag a selection dilemma. McTominay showed more heart in 10 minutes than most of his team-mates have all season, and has made a strong claim for a regular starting berth after the international break.
Dropping Casemiro would have been unthinkable last season, but there is now a genuine argument to say that United look a stronger side without him in the starting XI. Ten Hag himself suggested as much post-match, telling reporters when asked why he brought on Eriksen: "I wanted more football. Someone who brings passing and link-up play."
AdvertisementGettyConcerning statistics
Casemiro has always been a rough tackler, and often goes to ground when trying to stretch to win the ball back from the opposition. That wasn't an issue in his younger years, but he looks far slower this season, and thus the risk of him committing fouls has gone up.
But more concerning is the fact he is no longer attempting as many tackles, going in for just 2.91 per 90 minutes so far this season – down from 3.77. The former Real Madrid talisman can no longer keep up the same pace that made him such a feared ball-winner.
He has also won fewer than 50 percent of his individual duels – as per statistics – and is making just 0.69 interceptions per game compared to 1.43 in the 2022-23 campaign. Casemiro simply isn't doing the job he was signed to do.
Indeed, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk admitted that his team targeted Casemiro after their surprise 3-2 Champions League victory at Old Trafford last week. Andre Onana was most at fault for the midfielder's red card in that clash, but his tackling had been rash all night as he once again struggled with his timing and covering ground.
GettyExposed too often
The Brentford game was the first this season that Casemiro has not been asked to operate as the sole holding midfielder in Ten Hag's line-up, as Amrabat slotted in alongside him in a 4-2-3-1 set-up. Before that, Casemiro was the one sitting in front of the defence, with Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount given license to push forward and support Marcus Rashford or Rasmus Hojlund.
The flaws in that approach were clear to see on the Premier League's opening weekend, as United limped to a thoroughly unconvincing home win against Wolves. A late Raphael Varane header gave the hosts all three points, but Wolves were the superior side across the 90 minutes and wasted a hatful of chances.
The midfield was bypassed time and time again, as Neville noticed while covering the game for . "Casemiro got absolutely torn to shreds tonight," the former United defender said. "Man United’s midfield were non-existent and they were absolutely ripped apart. Wolves were absolutely fantastic. Manchester United’s midfield emptied."
It was no surprise when United started losing games, with Casemiro looking equally sluggish against Tottenham, Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace. Amrabat's arrival was supposed to ease some of the pressure on the £70m man, but they showed no signs of developing a potential partnership against Brentford.
Casemiro did not benefit from being given extra freedom to attack as his passing let him down once again and he was generally guilty of being way off the pace. United cannot afford to keep carrying the Brazilian if they hope to get their season back on track.
GettyNo excuses
Incredibly, Casemiro won United's September Player of the Month award, and is currently their top goalscorer across all competitions this term, with four to his name. But that is more of a damning indictment of the squad as a whole than it is a feather in Casemiro's cap.
Two of his goals came late on in the 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich on matchday one in the Champions League, but they papered over the cracks of another ineffective display, as did his effort in a 3-2 comeback win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Casemiro's only truly decent showing of the campaign to date came in United's 3-0 win against Crystal Palace in the third round of the Carabao Cup, which he capped with a brilliant headed goal. But the Eagles fielded a much-changed line-up that night, and got their revenge against the Red Devils at Old Trafford in the Premier League a few days later.
It's fair to say that Ten Hag has not managed Casemiro particularly well in recent weeks, often leaving him isolated with his formation tweaks and failing to grant him adequate rest between matches. There is no excuse for how low the Madrid legend has let his standards drop, though, and he doesn't deserve to be an automatic starter anymore.
Despite their win over Brentford, United are a club in crisis. There is very little margin for error left in any competition if they are to salvage their season, with Ten Hag now very much fighting for his job. Taking Casemiro out of the firing line, even just on a temporary basis, would give the Dutchman a better chance of turning things around quickly.