Why Casemiro is not starting for Manchester United explained
It had looked like Manchester United had pulled off a major coup when they signed Casemiro from Real Madrid in the summer in a transfer deal that could rise up to £70 million with add-ons. Unfortunately, things have not gone smoothly for the Brazilian midfielder since moving to the Theatre of Dreams.
He might have won five Champions League titles during his time at Real Madrid but he is struggling to find his way into Erik ten Hag’s side at the moment and has mostly been reduced to playing a role off the bench.
That is a bit confusing to be honest as defensive midfield has been considered as an area of worry for Manchester United for several years but once they signed one of the best in the world in the position, he is not playing much football for the Red Devils.
But it looks like it has nothing to do with Casemiro but instead with the fact that Manchester United had been on a good run of form recently and Ten Hag did not want to change up what had been working for the team.
Why Casemiro is not starting for Manchester United explained
As reported by Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag said about the situation:
"“On the day we signed him, we started to win and it’s about the team.“The team is doing really well, it’s not against Casemiro, it’s for, in this case, Scott McTominay, he performed great in the team and then we get into a run.“But I’m sure it will be important for us in the long and short-term, he will find himself in the team but it has to come in a natural way.”"
One would expect Casemiro to get more chances moving ahead, especially after the defeat that Manchester United suffered at the hands of Manchester City.
The scoreline might have been 6-3 but the gulf in quality between the two sides was further than that. Manchester City could have easily scored in double digits on the day while the late two goals from Manchester United were after the match had been practically over and Pep Guardiola’s side had taken their foot off the gas.
Would things have been different if Casemiro had started on the day? Who knows! But he definitely needs to be playing more than he is at the moment.