LONDON — When Manchester United conclude their next round of redundancies, the second of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s brief tenure as a majority shareholder plus human shield for the Glazers, you will not see Casemiro’s name among the soon-to-be unemployed. The scouting department might be scoured, the back offices bulldozed in the name of cost savings.
If the return is anything like the first round of restructuring last year, United might make £40 million in annualized savings. That should go most, perhaps even all, of the way to clearing the Casemiro millstone. On an annual basis, the Brazilian, contracted until the end of next season, is costing his employers an estimated £18 million in wages to go alongside a slightly smaller figure in the four-year amortization of the £60 million United gave to Real Madrid because they lost a couple of matches badly at the start of Erik ten Hag’s tenure.
Casemiro is not to blame for the short-term thinking that took Manchester United from the great money-printing operation of world football to one that has to slash costs to strengthen their squad. He is, however, indicative of it, much as he was of the alarming drop-off from both sides in this 1-0 defeat at Tottenham. The Premier League’s most successful side sit closer to its trapdoor than top four. On the on-field evidence, that sounds about right.
By rights, this was not a game the five-time European champion should have been starting in. If any of Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Christian Eriksen or even Toby Collier had been available, Ruben Amorim would surely have favored them over a 32-year-old who has only started one Premier League game since Dec. 2. If anyone can be rustled up to sit in central midfield for next Saturday’s trip to Everton, you suspect Casemiro will return to exile.
It spoke volumes that when Amorim finally turned to his bench of teenagers at the death, it was his most experienced player that made way. United hadn’t been playing with much of a midfield out of possession for the proceeding 89 minutes. What difference would it make if they ditched one entirely to make room for Chido Obi?
Having said that, you couldn’t fault Casemiro’s commitment to proving his boss wrong. Every time Tottenham burst through the heart of the United midfield, he was on hand, five yards behind the play, sprinting at full pelt but never getting back in time. He put his boot in, committing to Pedro Porro with such gusto that it was easy for the fullback to see him coming. A quick shuffle and Tottenham had an overload on the right. The resulting cross wasn’t dealt with and James Maddison was on hand to turn home the rebound from Lucas Bergvall’s shot.
There may be other games where Casemiro can be less redundant. A repurposed Bruno Fernandes is never going to be the easiest of partners in a double pivot. Perhaps with Ugarte actually alongside him, there would not have been so many angles opening up through which Spurs could carry.
The skills that are the last to leave the greats were still on display. When he did get near the ball, he tended to be more successful in duels than not. Casemiro can still switch a ball nicely, he cycled possession quite elegantly on those occasions where United could string some passes together. It should however be noted that he delivered the lowest expected possession value from passing of any United player, per Opta.
His passing then, was in and out. He may have done well when he got near the ball, aside from a yellow for an incredibly clumsy foul on Heung-min Son, but too often he got nowhere near it. Brennan Johnson could carry the ball from the edge of his own half to the edge of the box with Casemiro nothing more than his shadow. On multiple occasions in the first half, Bergvall received the ball with his back to goal only to spin away from United’s midfielder and fly upfield. Djed Spence had similar ease.
Those are players who suit the new norm of the Premier League, powerful ball carriers who can move at pace and eat up ground for 90 minutes. They will have a field day against Casemiro. Again, the veteran reflects the wider problems of this United squad. The best Sir Alex Ferguson sides had pace to burn across their XI. Tottenham were vulnerable to exactly that, as Rasmus Hojlund showed early on when he got away from Ben Davies and forced a save from Guglielmo Vicario. When Alejandro Garnacho and the sprightly Patrick Dorgu got going down the left, there was a scintilla of a threat. Too many around them are leaden-footed.
Perhaps more imaginative thinking is required from Amorim. The system isn’t going to change, Casemiro isn’t, so why not change someone else to offer more in midfield in a pinch? Would this team have been worse off with Victor Lindelof in the back four and Noussair Mazraoui in midfield?
As for those above him, the same will be needed. United are paying one of the highest salaries in the Premier League for a player who Amorim will only turn to in emergencies, moments he might just exacerbate on Sunday’s evidence. When there is money that needs saving and jobs that need cutting, what exactly is everyone holding out for, the materialization of links with Saudi Arabia? There was interest in Casemiro’s services at Al-Nassr in January but he was hardly top of PIF’s list. That may not change at a time when the Pro League is looking to get younger. Holding on to such an expensive asset on the off chance someone might sling you a few million in the summer is hardly indicative of a clear-eyed view on the financing.
Since the day he arrived, Ratcliffe has viewed United’s spending on Casemiro as a sign of the wastage of a past regime. It is time to break with that, to save what they can by getting out of this deal as soon as possible.
