Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag may soon have to pick his next club captain - should Harry Maguire lose the armband, as is being suggested in various reports.
It is being claimed that the centre-back - who saw his game time reduced at Old Trafford last season - is going to be stripped of the captaincy. Maguire turned out 16 times in the Premier League last campaign, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez forging a partnership in the heart of defence. Towards the end of the season, Victor Lindelöf and Luke Shaw also stepped in and performed.
Maguire now faces an uncertain future, ahead of his fifth season as a United player. The centre-back's place in the England side is under its greatest threat yet and Maguire may need to leave United for the good of his international career. He has been linked with fellow top-flight sides Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham this summer.
And Bruno Fernandes is being mooted as the likeliest candidate to succeed Maguire as skipper, having performed as defacto captain last campaign. But one former United defender feels a fellow midfielder deserves the armband.
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In the eyes of Gary Pallister - who made over 300 appearances for United - it's Casemiro who is better suited to take over. "I think Casemiro is a captain in waiting," said Pallister earlier this year. "I think everyone’s been impressed with the way he’s come in with the winning mentality that he’s brought from Real Madrid. I don’t think they’ve had leaders recently.
"When I was at the club we were fortunate to have the likes of Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane and Paul Ince. These guys were warriors on a football pitch. Bruno is different to that, as is Harry Maguire. I don’t think they’ve got that warrior mentality."
Casemiro was handed the Brazil captaincy earlier this year for the friendly against Morocco. Speaking recently, Casemiro also admitted he likes being a leader at United.
"I like having this role, yes, to be honest," he said. "Being a leader, caring, being like a father, going after things, I like to set an example, be the first to arrive. I like to play this role.
"The captain's sash is nothing more than a symbol, but the players have the responsibility to talk to the referee, to the players. I like to be that example player."
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