Manchester United’s big-money gamble on Casemiro could be set to backfire after just one season at Old Trafford. The Brazilian was hauled off during the win over Brentford by Erik ten Hag, who proceeded to call him out in the post-match press conference.
Casemiro was partly at fault for Brentford’s opener, giving the ball away clumsily before Mathias Jensen slotted past Andre Onana. The goalkeeper didn’t cover himself in glory either, and both players left themselves vulnerable to a grilling after the final whistle.
Despite Scott McTominay emerging from the bench to score twice and seal a euphoric Red Devils fightback, Ten Hag said: “When you give a goal away so easily – you can’t do that at our level, we have to do better.
“More of them have to take more responsibility, they have to be accountable, otherwise it’s difficult to win games. Opponents will benefit from it.”
Casemiro was ruthlessly withdrawn by Ten Hag at half time, with United then 1-0 down. And when asked for the reasoning behind the substitution, the United boss bluntly stated that he wanted to ‘see more football’.
A poor day against the Bees was the latest shred of evidence to support the theory that Casemiro is a shadow of the player he was last campaign. So consistent immediately after his move from Real Madrid, the Brazilian international was twice named Player of the Month by his team-mates in 2022/23.
“I think [Ten Hag] will want those younger, hungrier ones that have still got that growth rather than the finished article,” he told The Overlap.
“Casemiro, there’s no doubt – we all said it by the way – £60m? £70m? And £20m-a-year [contract] for five years is a £170m investment. That is a massive investment. It’s not a smart or shrewd signing when you look at it from a [big picture] point of view.”
