Thread by @smarterscout

A short thread on Casemiro. At age 30, he's still a very aggressive defender with high ball retention and good attacking output at a Premier League standard. But his defending quality has been dropping, and he's been relatively worse in the #UCL.

1/4 #Casemiro #MUFC #ManUtd

Casemiro covers a lot of ground but stayed quite central for Real Madrid last season. He doesn't come out to cover on the flanks very often, and he rarely gets in to the box. That doesn't stop him from taking pot shots, though....

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Right now Casemiro has a lot in common with countryman Fernandinho in his early 30s. Casemiro is better in the air but worse in 1v1s. He also dribbles less and does more progressive passing than Fernandinho did back then.

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So who's the odd man out in the Manchester United midfield? McTominay offers more of a difference in style versus Casemiro, but neither he nor Fred is particularly adventurous. Casemiro would have been an ideal foil for Pogba, though... (ducks).

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P.S. So is Casemiro worth £60m plus wages? He might be, for his attitude, if he can shake things up. But will he respect Ten Hag, given results so far? And putting aggression aside, is his defending good enough?

Imagine if they'd signed him to partner Pogba under Mourinho.... 💥