Manchester United have approached Real Madrid with a proposal to sign Casemiro this summer, with Erik ten Hag desperate to improve his squad.
After United agreed a fee with Juventus for midfielder Adrien Rabiot, a deal for the Frenchman is now dead and buried following a breakdown in personal terms. Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong remains at the top of the club's wish list this summer, but with no progress being made over the last few weeks, attention has turned to Real Madrid's Casemiro.
The Manchester Evening News understands the Brazil international could be much more obtainable than De Jong at this moment, despite the 30-year-old having recently signed a new deal with Los Blancos. Casemiro was part of the midfield that beat Liverpool 1-0 in May's 2022 Champions League final, making it his fifth UCL final win since joining Madrid back in 2013.
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So, if United were to make a move for Casemiro this summer, how could the Brazilian impact Ten Hag's side? Could he become the midfielder that could push United back towards the top four?
We 'signed' Casemiro for Manchester United
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Casemiro to join United from Real Madrid, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers and the Premier League with the latest results.
Integrated straight into the squad, Casemiro quickly became the first name on the team sheet for Ten Hag, playing 43 games in his first season at the club. Starting as a defensive midfielder, the Brazilian managed a decent attacking contribution, grabbing three goals and six assists in all competitions.
The midfielder had an 89% pass success rate and a 79% tackle success rate, the best out of all the midfielders at United. He also averaged a rating of 7.25 per game despite his poor disciplinary record, picking up 13 yellow cards and one red.
When compared to the other midfielders at United, only Bruno Fernandes averaged a higher rating per game. Casemiro made the most appearances, but he registered the least goals and the same assists as Christian Eriksen.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Casemiro made United's best XI in the simulation, joined by Eriksen and Fernandes in the centre of midfield. Cristiano Ronaldo led the line over Anthony Martial after outscoring and outperforming the Frenchman, while Luke Shaw started over Tyrell Malacia at left-back.
Man United's results with Casemiro
United showed big improvements with Casemiro in the squad, with Ten Hag's side earning 10 more points than the previous season. Although it still wasn't enough for a spot in the top four, as Ten Hag's side finished fifth in the Premier League, they were much closer to their rivals.
Interestingly, United lost fewer games (eight) than second-placed Manchester City (nine), but 11 draws on top of the losses saw them miss out on the top four. Ten Hag's side were four points behind Tottenham in fourth and 10 behind champions Liverpool - not the biggest gap in the world.
Of the top five teams in the league, United had the second-worst goals scored record (65) and the worst defensive record (45 goals conceded) but this was a vast improvement from last season, where they scored 57 and conceded 57. The Reds scored eight more goals and conceded 12 fewer goals with Casemiro in midfield, highlighting his impact.
Unfortunately for United, they couldn't earn a Champions League spot through the Europa League either, losing to Atalanta on penalties in the quarter-finals, following a 4-4 aggregate draw. Another penalty defeat saw United knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round to Newcastle, whilst a 2-1 defeat to Brentford eliminated Ten Hag's side in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Overall, FM22 suggests that Casemiro could become a key player for United, regularly starting in their midfield and helping improve the side. But with the midfielder now in his 30s, he may only prove to be a short-term solution, and if United had to pick out of Casemiro and De Jong, the latter could prove a much more beneficial option in the long run.
Would you like to see Man United sign Casemiro? Let us know in the comments!
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