Manchester United decided to move quickly to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid after failing to make a breakthrough over a deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, with Casemiro arguably now looking the more useful signing for Erik ten Hag’s needs anyway.
The Brazil international gives Man Utd a proper defensive midfielder to shield their back four, whereas De Jong might have been the superior option in terms of his ability on the ball and his understanding of Ten Hag’s tactics from their time together at Ajax.
A deal for Casemiro is now close, however, and Romano says it should only be a matter of time before it’s officially announced, once some final visa issues are resolved.
“Manchester United’s official signing of Casemiro will happen this week, for sure. They’re just waiting for visa issues to be resolved now and will then unveil the Brazilian as a new signing,” Romano said.
“Manchester United were quick to act in time when they were presented with the opportunity to sign Casemiro, it was not a priority in June but an idea born later in the window because the Frenkie de Jong deal had been on standby for two months.”
United have also signed Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrrell Malacia this summer, but Casemiro might be the most exciting purchase yet.
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?? "I expect Tielemans is one to watch until the end of the market. Leicester know that proposals could come, and Arsenal have been interested since May…" – @FabrizioRomano
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— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) August 22, 2022
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, they’ll still have to take on rivals Liverpool without him tonight as he’s not likely to be fully signed up in time for this evening’s big game at Old Trafford.
Romano adds, however, that the mere agreement of the Casemiro deal has lifted the mood inside Ten Hag’s squad.
“I can say that the mood was really sad at the beginning of last week, but the Casemiro deal helped to regain confidence and smiles in the group,” he said.