Replacing Casemiro

[devilish]

Yes - your point is understandable. I think in the summer he will only have 1 year on his contract so if Saudi can offer him 2 years, it makes sense for him to go. Also - if he doesn’t play at all (like his current situation), then he willl struggle to find a club when his current deal expires in 2026. Alternatively, he may decide that the money he will get from Man Utd is good enough for him and be happy to sit on the bench till 2026 and then retire.

The trouble with old players isn't just about them running out of steam. It's also about them understanding their body inside out. That means knowing fully well their limitations, what makes it tick and what's more likely to get them injured. There's also that element of him being a football legend which means that clubs are expected to treat him with respect and would look bad if they don't. It happened to us with Bastian whom we were expected to treat him like some icon even though he was dog shit for us from almost game 1.

Casemiro is getting the best of both worlds. He's getting these cameos, he's staying out of the fans ire while being paid handsomely for them. That means huge money in a safe environment without no real controversy around it. On the other hand he's keeping himself away from injury. Once these 2 years are of then rest assured that some club will get him. There's the MLS, Saudi, the new rich (ex Como) or every Brazilian dream ie to retire back home even if he'll be on pocket money.

 

[fps]

What did you expect? We spent 70m on a 30 year old DM and then we went on giving him a 4 year contract. DMs are heavily reliant on work rate and yet we foolishly believed that a 30 year old DM whose got more wear and tear then a Hawker Hurricane plane after WW2 will be our top player for 4 more years while playing in the most physical, fast paced and demanding league in the world. That's silly on so many levels.

We really need to go back to the basics. For example a DM that can't run, a goalkeeper that can't save a shot or a striker that is not cynical in front of goal are as useful as bull tits.

Well yeah think I said it in the post, I expected this.

And I don’t doubt his professionalism at all, it was just inevitable that he would find it difficult at United as he lost half a yard and the set-up of the team itself has been a complete joke.

 

[fps]

Harsh.

Thought he was very good - and very committed - in his first season. From the outside he seems to have remained professional even though his legs can't do it like they could. Madrid are expert sellers, they'd have known he only had one more big season in him and cashed in at the right time.

Not questioning his professionalism at all,

 

[Scholsey2004]

Surely Casemiro's replacement would need to be £40m or less, we have too many holes to fill to spend any more?

I don't think we need a replacement. We aren't challenging for the league for a couple of years. We very likely won't be playing in Europe next season. We won't be playing the amount of games we did in '99 for instance so we don't need a huge squad. Ugarte, backed up by Collyer and some of the back-ups to other positions should be perfectly adequate.

 

[Scholsey2004]

Casemiro has been replaced, as seen yesterday what we need is an Eriksen replacement.

Not sure we even need to buy a replacement for Eriksen either. It looks like Fernandes will be playing in midfield now and Mainoo as a 10. Since Fernandes rarely ever misses a game I think we could back him up with a decent youngster like weve done with Ugarte and Collyer. Jack Fletcher or Moorhouse maybe. Plus we can move Mainoo around if need be.

 

[Happy Head]

I don't think we need a replacement. We aren't challenging for the league for a couple of years. We very likely won't be playing in Europe next season. We won't be playing the amount of games we did in '99 for instance so we don't need a huge squad. Ugarte, backed up by Collyer and some of the back-ups to other positions should be perfectly adequate.

Agree 100%, was surprised we have a thread about replacing Casemiro with all these expensive options, Collyer is looking like the in house option

 

[Bwuk]

Has to be Baleba for me. Can rotate with Ugarte or play next to him.