Manchester United's fanbase are excited to see their newest recruit in action after securing a big-money move for former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro.
The 30-year-old saw his switch confirmed on Friday night and he is expected to meet the Red Devils faithful for the first time when he is unveiled before kick-off ahead of the Monday night clash with fierce rivals Liverpool. Though it is yet to be confirmed by the club, Casemiro is widely expected to don the number 18 shirt for United.
It is a shirt that boasts plenty of weight due to its previous tenants, so Casemiro has big shoes to fill to follow in the footsteps of some of United's number 18s of years gone by. Paul Scholes wore the shirt for the bulk of his lengthy career at the club, while current fan-favourite Bruno Fernandes only recently left the shirt vacant to take over as the number eight.
It is hardly a worry as to whether Casemiro will be able to do the shirt justice given the standard he has operated at for arguably the biggest club in the world over the last nine years. The reasoning behind why the Brazilian is rumoured to have chosen 18 as his number is unclear, but eagled-eyed fans online have posed their own theory.
For the majority of his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, Casemiro worked perfectly in tandem with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. As a trio, the three of them combined to help Los Blancos win five Champions League titles, including last season's edition of the competition.
With that in mind, the relationship between the three Real Madrid icons is closer than the average teammate dynamic. For just shy of a decade, they formed one of the most effective and talented midfield line-ups European football has seen for quite some time.
This all links to the theory some fans have conjured up. Some feel Casemiro has taken the vacant 18 shirt at United because it is the number you get when you combine Modric and Kroos' Real Madrid shirt numbers.
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The former wears the number 10, while the latter has long adorned the number eight. Totalling 18 when put together, Casemiro - who wore 14 for Los Blancos - may have had that fact in the back of his mind when the time came to making his decision.
The trio are such close friends that Casemiro was actually sent a public farewell letter from Modric and Kroos. "With you, my dear Case, it was impossible not to break a sweat... in any situation," Kroos wrote in a message published by Marca. "Because you wouldn't let us relax even in the Turkish bath."
Modric kept it similarly light-hearted, writing: "Those laughs with you gave me peace of mind. Just like looking back and seeing you, knowing there's going to be a lot of 'Njega-Njega'. You have been the best bodyguard in the world.
"I'm going to miss you, but I wish you the best. It is what a professional and a person like you deserve. Thanks for everything and good luck, friend!"
