Paul Scholes has had to hold his hands up and admit he got it wrong when assessing what Casemiro's main strengths were when he was first unveiled as a Manchester United player.
The touch-tackling Brazilian midfielder was purchased from Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer in a bid to bolster Erik ten Hag's options in the middle of the park. Thursday night saw him enjoy arguably his best game for the club, as United cruised to a 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.
"He surprised me a little bit with his forward passing, his range of passing," Scholes told BT Sport after the clash. "I thought he was more of a winner, getting the ball back in midfield. It was [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric last year; he has more to his game and showed more of a range to his game."
While Scholes may have been unfamiliar with Casemiro's game, the same cannot be said the other way around.
The Brazilian international cited Scholes as his favourite United legend when asked by the club website if any former Red Devils served as an inspiration just weeks before the ex-England international publicly exposed how he hadn't watched much of him.
"Well, there are many players... I think there are players that you remember in your life," he claimed. "So, in terms of idols in this position my idol growing up was always [Zinedine] Zidane, [but] here at Manchester United it was always Paul Scholes.
"He's a player that was small but he got stuck in, he was a fighter, he gave everything on the pitch, his passing over 50 to 70 metres was incredible. Manchester United have always [had] good players in that position.
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"The little guy [Scholes] was very good and what I loved about him when he played was that he was small but he went in hard and fair." Casemiro doesn't exactly harbour the kind of technical quality that Scholes did when he was a player, but he is just as firm in the challenge.
Despite the solid start, Scholes still feels it will take some time for the former Santiago Bernabeu favourite to become a first-team regular. "I thought he [Ten Hag] was always going to pick his Premier League team [against Sheriff]," the Old Trafford legend revealed.
"Casemiro, we know the quality he's got and he'll have to work his way into that team. He did okay, just okay, last week - he's clever, he's experienced.
"Eventually he will work his way into this team, but he's going to have to wait a little bit... That's his first game for some time and I think he will, eventually, with the quality he's got, work his way into the team."
United aren't in action again until October 2 when they make the short trip across Manchester to take on fierce rivals City at the Etihad. Before then, Casemiro will jet off for international duty as Brazil gear up for friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia.
The midfielder will be joined by fellow United teammates Fred and marquee summer signing Antony as Ten Hag keeps his fingers crossed they return with no new injury concerns.
