Man Utd WRONG to offload fan favourite in summer as stats show catastrophic drop-off

A report has outlined why Manchester United may have made a mistake in parting ways with Casemiro, with INEOS ‘underappreciating’ one particular aspect of his game.

Casemiro enjoyed a fantastic first and last year at Man Utd, while the middle years left a lot to be desired. Yet despite playing a huge role in helping the Red Devils to qualify for the Champions League last term, the decision was taken to part ways in the summer.

Casemiro left via free agency and quickly linked up with fellow legends of the game, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, at Inter Miami.

The exit came in conjunction with Man Utd overhauling their midfield. However, Andrey Santos is nothing more than a bit-part player, Youri Tielemans is closing in on 30, and Carlos Baleba is already injured.

What’s more, none of the trio come remotely close to matching the astronomical levels of impact Casemiro made at set pieces.

Casemiro steaming in to head home from corners and free kicks was a common sight throughout his spell in Manchester.

And per the latest from The Athletic, Man Utd didn’t quite realise what they were losing in terms of set piece output.

Man Utd set piece threat collapses with Casemiro

The report ran the rule over Carrick’s doomed reign this season, noting that United haven’t played or approached the game all that differently to how they did when performing so well under Carrick last term.

However, one of the major differences is United’s almost total drop-off in set piece threat, which is largely down to Casemiro’s departure.

The Athletic explained: ‘The major statistical detail that stands out, however, is United completely losing their set-piece threat (down from 98 to nine in this ranking system).

‘The metric is calculated by expected goals (xG) at set pieces plus goals per 100 set pieces, but weighted 70:30 in favour of xG to reward teams who are generating chances from them but aren’t necessarily scoring.

‘A large chunk of United’s drop-off can be traced back to Casemiro. He scored eight goals from set pieces last season – no other player in the squad managed more than two – while he was responsible for around 27 per cent of United’s xG generated from corners.

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‘Aged 34 and on wages of around £300,000 per week, Casemiro was destined to leave United under the INEOS regime, but the performance cost of his departure has been underappreciated.

‘He would at times vacate space in the centre of the pitch in search of being effective in the final third, but often his instinct was right, and United have not replaced that roaming, goalscoring presence in any of their three midfield signings.’