Paul Scholes has admitted he would've liked to have played alongside Casemiro in the heart of Manchester United's midfield.
Scholes, now 48, is one of United's greatest ever players and appears to be a big fan of Casemiro. The Brazil international, 30, was signed by the Red Devils from Real Madrid for an initial £60million in August and has become an important player under Erik ten Hag.
Scholes believes Casemiro can play the defensive midfield role "really well" but has confessed his concerns about playing alongside fellow United midfielder Bruno Fernandes. He thinks it would've been a "disaster" if him and Fernandes, 28, were in the same team.
In an interview with United's website, Scholes was asked to name which current United midfielder he would've preferred to play with. And that's a risky game considering he's previously been critical of Fred and Scott McTominay in his role as a TV pundit.
"It’s quite an easy question because of the style of play," he said. "I’d much prefer to play with Casemiro, somebody who I knew could play the position really well. He probably reminds me of [Michael] Carrick, [Nicky] Butt, Roy Keane and those type of players.
"With Bruno, I think we would be all over the place and us two together in midfield would be an absolute disaster! Just both of us would want to be up the field, contributing and scoring goals and trying to win games. Look, if I had to choose out of the two, it would have to be Casemiro."
What do you make of Paul Scholes' comments? Let us know in the comments below!
Casemiro is regarded as one of the best holding midfielders of his generation after winning three LaLiga titles and five Champions Leagues at Real. He's also a key member of Tite's Brazil side and scored the winner against Switzerland at the World Cup on Monday.
In terms of Fernandes, he's known for his attacking ability but less so for his defensive work. Ten Hag is deploying the Portugal international in an advanced role and playing Christian Eriksen, 30, alongside Casemiro in the centre of midfield.
Scholes was reminded of Eriksen after giving his initial response. "Again, probably Casemiro," he replied, sticking with his initial answer. "I love Christian Eriksen, I think he’s brilliant but a little bit more like me and just worried about the attacking side of things.
"Look, if me and Christian or Bruno played together, it could be 6-6 or 7-6. There could be any score. We’d concede a lot of goals but might score a few! Just having that added security of Casemiro. Like I said, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Michael Carrick could play the position perfectly and they’re the type of players I prefer to play with."
Scholes was critical of McTominay and Fred after United's 2-1 home to defeat to Brighton in August. That defeat happened before Casemiro was signed.
"Fred constantly giving the ball away," Scholes told BT Sport, as quoted by The Sun. "McTominay running with the ball in attack when he’s got [Jadon] Sancho, [Marcus] Rashford ahead of him - [he] should pass the ball to Eriksen. It's criminal."
