Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag may not fully trust summer signing Casemiro, according to pundit Darren Bent.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Tottenham, Sunderland and Aston Villa striker questioned if Ten Hag even wanted to sign Casemiro in the first place, given that the experienced Brazil international couldn’t make it into the starting line up for such an important game.
Casemiro won the Champions League five times during his Real Madrid career, so would surely be ideal for a big game like the Manchester Derby, but he had to make do with a place on the bench.
Watch the video clip below as Bent suspects Ten Hag doesn’t trust Casemiro, and may never even have wanted him at Old Trafford at all…
“I question whether he wanted Casemiro!”
“They signed Antony & he went straight into the team. Does he trust Casemiro?”
Darren Bent questions if Erik ten Hag ever wanted to bring Casemiro to #MUFC. ?? pic.twitter.com/BegWHua61N
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 3, 2022
Casemiro surely wasn’t brought to Man Utd to sit on the bench, so fans will likely have assumed he’s been kept out of the first XI for the time being to help him settle in.
But as Bent says, Antony went straight into Ten Hag’s starting line up just after signing for the club, so there’s a strange lack of consistency there.
Speaking to CaughtOffside this week, ex-Red Devil Luke Chadwick stated that he now expected Casemiro would start games over Scott McTominay after the Manchester City defeat.
“It was a big call to make. I think in fairness McTominay earned his place in the team, leading up to this game. I also think United won’t really come up against an attack like this Man City team again this season, so even with a player who offers what Casemiro does there, I think it would’ve been a real challenge to contain City, with how well they were playing,” Chadwick said.
“You’d imagine Casemiro was brought in to be that main defensive midfielder in front of the defence. After this game, you’d think maybe Ten Hag will look to start him in matches now, I can’t imagine he’s been brought in to sit on the bench. Obviously he came on as a substitute, and he wasn’t brilliant, but he contributed to a slightly improved performance in the second half.
“I do expect Casemiro to come into the team now and make that defensive midfield place his own alongside Christian Eriksen.”