Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Casemiro: Erik ten Hag clarifies damaging claims on Brazilian as boss explains where star ranks in Man Utd pecking order

Casemiro of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League match at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists Casemiro remains a big part of his plans going forwards after defending his reasons for keeping the Brazilian benched for Sunday’s 6-3 derby mauling at Manchester City.

The experienced 30-year-old midfielder moved to Old Trafford over the summer, signing in a deal that could eventually reach £70m. However, he has been forced to wait patiently for his chance to impress, having appeared for a mere 217 minutes so far. That includes just one start to his name, coming in the Europa League against FC Sheriff.

In the Premier League, it’s even worse. Casemiro has been limited to just four brief substitute appearances off the bench.

That said, Casemiro was tipped by many to come into the starting line-up ahead of Sunday’s trip to the Etihad. However, Ten Hag thought otherwise and opted to stay loyal to Scott McTominay alongside Christian Eriksen.

As a result, Rio Ferdinand has questioned the merits of why United have signed him. The former United skipper turned pundit fears Casemiro will very quickly grow frustrated with his situation and that questions will soon be asked.

Ferdinand is also adamant that the 30-year-old may soon start regretting his decision to sign for United.

“The geeze hasn’t been given a chance, he hasn’t been given a fair crack of the whip. He’s come in and played in a Europa League game against some dead team,” Ferdinand explained.

Ten Hag hits back at Casemiro claims

“He ain’t been given a start in the team when he’s fit and ready. He’s regressed in terms of fitness, so he’s now worse off than when he came. He still had to get up to speed when he came from that league to this league.

“I wonder the impact it’s having on someone like him. Yes he’s experience and whatnot. But he must be sitting there thinking, ‘wow, I’m happy to be here at Man United but I’m feeling a little bit disrespected here, given what I’ve done’. I’d be surprised if he’s not feeling like that.”

Responding to the claims, Ten Hag insists that Casemiro is important to the United cause and believes his chances will come.

Furthermore, he says that McTominay has retained his shirt in recent weeks based on merit, meaning Casemiro, as a result, has been forced to wait for his chance.

Ten Hag said: “We will play tomorrow our best team. We have to construct a team because we want a competitive culture.

“It had nothing to do with Casemiro, it had all to do with Scott. When he wasn’t in the team at Brentford, we lost. Casemiro will have an important role, we know his background, the titles he’s won, you see every day in training.”

Casemiro will soon claim regular shirt

It’s understandable that questions are being asked about Casemiro given his lack of minutes. Furthermore, it’s easy to see that, with United chasing Frenkie de Jong for so long, why people would assume the Brazilian is not a signing Ten Hag wanted.

On the contrary, the United manager was very much behind his signing and is merely biding his time with him. In fairness  – and before the Manchester derby – McTominay had done little to warrant being dropped.

And with United on a run of five wins from six matches prior to Sunday, there was a fair shout for him to keep faith with the Scotland midfielder.

It’s also worth remembering how long Jurgen Klopp took in intergrating one of his key players into the side in Fabinho. The Brazilian is one of the first names on Liverpool’s team-sheet; but for a long period after signing, he too had to wait for his chance.

As such, it surely will not be long before Casemiro is a regular in the United side. And he still certainly ranks highly among Ten Hag’s most favoured players.

He was named Man of the Match in the Champions League final just five months. And he remains a player at the top of his game. Before long, it will come as no surprise to see him anchoring United’s midfield with Bruno Fernandes and Eriksen pulling the strings in front of him.

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