Gary Neville has questioned Manchester United’s decision to hand Casemiro a four-year deal with an option for a 12-month extension.
The contract means the defensive midfielder - who was unveiled as Erik ten Hag’s fourth signing to the Old Trafford crowd prior to Monday’s 2-1 win over Liverpool - may stay until 2027 if the additional year is triggered.
Ten Hag has been targeting 25-year-old Frenkie de Jong, partly due to his younger age fitting in with the manager’s long-term rebuild plan.
READ MORE: United sign Casemiro and John Murtough explains signing
After an unpopular pursuit of Adrien Rabiot, United have landed with five-time Champions League winner Casemiro. While his acquisition is generally viewed as a good thing, United’s route to get to the Brazilian has been criticised with some feeling they are paying over the odds for a player in his 30s.
“That’s why sometimes now I don’t get as excited as I do about the signings that come in because I know they’re not a part of the strategy at the start of the summer,” Neville told Sky Sports. “Every other club is very precise, you don’t see them bouncing around like a pinball from one player to another. It’s De Jong, Rabiot then it ends up being Casemiro on a phenomenal contract that’s going to cost the club £160m.”
He added: “I have to say he’ll do well for the club for a couple of years, Casemiro, but someone in two years time is going to pick up a player beyond their best years for £20m that they can’t shift. That might be Erik ten Hag, it might be a new manager, it might be new owners, so there is a large element of desperation with the signing because a five-year contract for a 30-year-old shouldn’t happen.”
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