Shoot for the moon and if you miss you might land among on the stars, so the saying goes, and in Manchester United’s case aiming high has resulted in them prising away a five-time Champions League-winning star from Real Madrid.
Given United have been linked with dozens of players over the transfer window, with the list of names seemingly growing at the same rate as their desperation levels, it is safe to say the reports claiming they were after Casemiro this week were met with derision.
Here is a world-class player, a member of the most fabled midfield three since Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, who has just won La Liga and another Champions League, linked with Europa League-playing, bottom-of-the-Premier-League, full-crisis-mode Manchester United… He wouldn’t, would he?
Well, it turns out the transfer is imminent, with Real Madrid and United reaching an agreement on Friday night after Carlo Ancelotti admitted Casemiro wanted a “new challenge” – and that it certainly will be when he swaps Madrid for Manchester soon, personal terms and medical permitting.
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i's guide to the Premier League weekend on TV with Man Utd vs Liverpool and Leeds vs Chelsea19 August, 2022Reports suggest he will earn more than he does at Real, while the salary will put him among United’s top earners, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, with a four-year deal in the pipeline and the option for a fifth.
That is an offer too good for 30-year-old Casemiro to refuse. He may have had three years remaining on his Real contract, but it was arguably now or never for another deal like this, while he may also have recently realised his importance in the Spanish capital was diminishing.
Real signed Eduardo Camavinga last year and Aurelien Tchouameni earlier this summer, with the duo – along with Federico Valverde – part of the club’s midfield regeneration that aims to ease the transition away from the all-conquering but aging Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
And in their La Liga opener at Almeria on the weekend, both Camavinga and Tchouameni started ahead of Casemiro and Modric in the 2-1 win – a sign that perhaps this evolution is already under way, while for Real the €70m (£59.2m) being offered helps balance the books after spending an initial €80m (£68m) on Tchouameni.
That could explain why Casemiro wanted a change of scenery, but despite the commotion over the lengthy contract there is no reason to suggest United are getting a player that will soon pass the peak of his powers.
United fans need only watch his highlights against Liverpool in May’s Champions League final to see what they are getting: a midfielder who will sit deep and intercept all day long, as Sadio Mane in particular found out three months ago, while his passing range is not to be sniffed at and superior to that of Fred and Scott McTominay’s.
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