Luka Modric has praised Casemiro following the Brazilian enforcer's impressive performance in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday evening.
Casemiro was lured to Manchester from Real Madrid in a £60million deal in the summer to end Erik ten Hag's search for a new No.6, however, he has been integrated into the first-team picture at Old Trafford slowly. But pressure has grown on Ten Hag to accelerate the Brazilian into his plans after the 30-year-old midfielder was a surprise omission from the Manchester United squad that were thumped 6-3 in last weekend's Manchester derby.
One week on, Casemiro was handed his first Premier League start by Ten Hag - and the multi-time Champions League winner bounced back from an early mishap to catch the eye at Goodison Park.
Casemiro was at fault for Everton's opening goal, which came courtesy of a sumptuous strike from Alex Iwobi. But Antony promptly restored parity for Manchester United before the Brazilian impressively teed up Cristiano Ronaldo for the decisive goal after winning possession back deep inside his own half.
The Manchester United midfielder, who grew more and more influential as the game went on, was deservedly named Man of the Match - and he was lauded by Modric, his former Real Madrid midfield partner, in a social media post.
After United shared a snap of Casemiro with his Man of the Match award on Instagram, Modric sent a message of praise to his old teammate which comprised of a fire emoji and a clapping hands emoji.
Casemiro was also showered with praise by former Old Trafford favourite Rio Ferdinand, who has been critical of Ten Hag for using the midfielder sparingly - particularly in the wake of last weekend's chastening defeat against Manchester City.
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Speaking after Sunday's win over Everton, Ferdinand told BT Sport: "If you had a highlights reel on him today with the ball, you'd say he shouldn't be playing maybe.
"But without the ball, the positions that he took up, the way he regained possession, [the way he] didn't allow [opposition] players to play the ball forward into dangerous areas, that is what you need in your team if you are going to have any stability.
"I'm not concerned with him on the ball, he will give it to the players who can create. That's been his game his whole career. He is there to plug gaps, plug spaces.
"For me, as a centre-back, you need someone in front of you who knows how to marshal that space in front, to not give away opportunities easily. He's the only midfield player in the Man United squad that knows how to defend instinctively and it's part of his make-up, the best part of his game."
