Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has claimed that clubs are "taking the mick" out of the Reds after they paid £60million for Casemiro.
United unveiled the signing of Casemiro ahead of their victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday night. The midfielder will add a level of steel and resilience to Erik ten Hag's side that has seen the Brazilian win five Champions League trophies at Real Madrid.
The deal could rise to as much as £70million in total with performance-related add-ons, and the player has signed a four-year contract with the option of an additional year. That could in theory see Casemiro at the club up to the age of 35, which has raised some concerns regarding the club's long-term planning.
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This view is shared by the former United player, as Ince believes that although Casemiro is a good player, the finances of the deal are alarming.
He told Boyle Sports: "It's great that Man United signed Casemiro, but it's a lot of money at his age and I think sometimes clubs are taking the mick out of Man United because they know that the Red Devils need players so the price goes up.
"£60million on a four-year-deal for a 30-year-old is a lot of money but it shows where Man United are at now because they're having to pay over the odds to get players in."
The former Red did however share his excitement over the potential signing of Antony from Ajax, as Ince claimed the 22-year-old would add another dimension to United's attack.
He said: "Man United just need to become a consistent team again because at the moment nobody knows which team is going to turn up each week. If they can get that right, they'll have a very poignant front-line, especially with Anthony who is a top class player and it'd be a great bit of business if they can get him which I'm sure they will.
"Players like [Marcus] Rashford and [Jadon] Sancho need to perform like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs did for so many years. Having six or seven really good games a season doesn't make them great players."
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