Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Casemiro: Man Utd signing labelled ‘quality’, but Roy Keane and Gary Neville reveal two key concerns over transfer

Brazil midfielder Casemiro

Roy Keane thinks new Manchester United player Casemiro is ‘quality’, though he and Gary Neville have also brought up worrying factors about the move.

Manchester United agreed a deal with Real Madrid for Casemiro on Friday. A club statement read: ‘Manchester United is delighted to announce that the club has reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of Casemiro.

‘The transfer is subject to the agreement of personal terms, UK visa requirements and a medical. We all look forward to welcoming Casemiro to Old Trafford.’

According to BBC Sport, the transfer is worth an initial £60million, plus a further £10m in add-ons. Casemiro is set to pen a four-year contract with Manchester United, and the deal will include the option of a further year.

The defensive midfielder is at Old Trafford tonight (Monday) to watch his new team take on rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.

Ahead of the game, Sky Sports pundits Keane and Neville analysed the signing. Keane says Casemiro is ‘quality’. However, the Brazilian faces a big shock when playing alongside his new team-mates due to how bad they have been this season and last term.

Neville, meanwhile, is worried about the financial implications of United offering a 30-year-old player such a long contract.

Keane said: “The problem for any player coming to Manchester United now is they’re coming into a bad dressing room, a bad group of players.

Casemiro facing Man Utd ‘problem’, says Roy Keane

“We’ve mentioned before, these players don’t want to run [and] they don’t make a good group. That’s a problem for any new player, no matter how good they are.”

Keane added: “Man Utd are desperate. I think he’s a quality player, you could look at the bigger picture but obviously it’s a lot of money, a long contract.

“The agents out there must be delighted they’ve got Man Utd. But when you’re desperate, you’ve got to pay over the odds.”

Neville said: “Every other club is really precise. You don’t see them bouncing around like a pinball in the transfer market. It’s Frenkie de Jong, [then] Adrien Rabiot and it ends up being Casemiro.

“[He’s] on a phenomenal contract that’s going to cost the club £160m. I think he’ll do well for the club for a couple of years.

“But someone, in two years’ time, is gonna pick up a player that’s beyond his best years, on £20m a year that they can’t shift. That might be Erik ten Hag, a new manager or new owners.

“There is a large element of desperation with the signing because a five-year contract for a 30-year-old should not happen.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United have reportedly made a bid to sign an Eintracht Frankfurt player.