Rio Ferdinand has questioned Erik ten Hag's decision not to start Casemiro against Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Thursday night.
Manchester United signed the Brazil international, 30, from Real Madrid for an initial £60million last month. Casemiro is set to play a vital role in Ten Hag's side this season as midfield has arguably been United's weakest department in recent years.
Ten Hag was expected to deploy the five-time Champions League winner against the Foxes but decided to play Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen in the heart of their midfield instead. Casemiro is fit after completing a full pre-season in the Spanish capital and made his United debut as a sub in the weekend win over Southampton.
"He will be fuming that he is not starting because all top players want to play every minute of every game," Ferdinand told BT Sport. "But, ten Hag said that in the window, they have bought the right players in the right areas, and he is certainly one of those."
Ten Hag named an unchanged starting XI for their trip to the East Midlands, with Raphael Varane partnering Lisandro Martinez in central defence again. Captain Harry Maguire and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo were both benched by the Dutchman.
New signing Antony, who completed an £82m move from Ajax on Thursday morning, was not available for selection as he was not registered with the Premier League in time. He is expected to feature in United's next game against Arsenal at home on Sunday.
What do you make of Casemiro's omission? Let us know in the comments below!
Former United winger Ben Thornley believes Ten Hag did not pick Casemiro because he didn't want to change a winning team. United recorded consecutive wins against Liverpool and Southampton heading into Thursday's clash at the King Power Stadium.
"It's imperative you have a squad, particularly in a season as condensed as this one," Thornley told BBC Radio 5 Live. "For Harry Maguire, it doesn't matter that he's the captain.
"It's not a pre-requisite to play. At the moment, Ten Hag has found his best centre-back partnership and he's been vindicated in that. I think United will continue to improve under this manager and three points certainly helps build momentum."
Explaining his decision to leave Casemiro out of the starting XI, Ten Hag told MUTV: "Of course, it was an option [to play Casemiro], a really good option. But in the last two games, we've played quite well and so I want to give them a chance for this game as well.
"It doesn't say nothing for the future, we will bring players in. We have many games, so we will rotate. [Leicester have had] a difficult start, they are tough opponents. But they play well and in many games, I think they deserved a result. After today, they can get it. We have to go from game to game and keep going."
Casemiro has won 20 senior honours for club and country during his career - including three La Liga titles and the Copa America in 2019. He's won 63 senior caps for Brazil and has played more than 500 games at club level for Sao Paulo, Porto, Real and now United.
