Casemiro made three demands of Man Utd that immediately made Ten Hag aware he’s signing a leader
Man Utd were convinced they were signing a leader and duly accelerated their pursuit after Casemiro made three requests during his summer courtship, per a report.
For the longest time, Man Utd’s summer window appeared to be veering off course. They did add Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen early, but Arsenal provided strong competition for Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentine ultimately chose the Red Devils, but primary midfield target, Frenkie de Jong, continued to elude them. Only when United abandoned their chase of the Dutchman did their window truly click into gear.
Interest in Adrien Rabiot quickly came and went before United settled on Real Madrid destroyer Casemiro.
The Brazilian arrived for an initial £60m, a sum that raised eyebrows at the time given he’s already 30.
With the midfield sorted, United had just enough time to add Antony to their forward ranks to the tune of £86m. All in all, a fine summer window was overseen.
If Manchester United fans were to choose their signing of the season right now, Martinez, Eriksen and Casemiro would be the contenders.
The latter has lived up to his reputation as a midfield destroyer and has laid the foundation for the creative stars around him to thrive. However, beyond his tough tackling and the odd attacking return, Casemiro has also brought leadership.
The Brazilian has been a calming influence and is playing as a de facto captain without the armband.
His leadership qualities should perhaps not come as a surprise given he anchored a Real Madrid midfield to five Champions League titles in eight years.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United were made fully aware of his standing at a key stage in their recruitment drive.
Casemiro’s three simple requests
The outlet state that as talks progressed, Casemiro only wanted to know three things before putting pen to paper: Where he would live, where he could train and where he would play.
Per the report, it’s at that stage United ‘were convinced’ they were signing a leader. Rather than image rights or the like, Casemiro was only interested in the basics and how he could go about bringing his best to United.
United duly accelerated their move and the report adds Casemiro ‘appreciated’ the club’s eagerness to sign him. That came in stark contrast to Carlo Ancelotti’s apparent nonchalant approach to losing the 30-year-old.
Ancelotti had Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to fall back on. United had Scott McTominay and Fred, and after taking a few weeks to adapt, Casemiro quickly ousted the pair.
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