At first it was Frenkie de Jong, then it was Frenkie de Jong, all summer long it was Frenkie de Jong, now it is Casemiro.
Manchester United's standards have slipped on the pitch and they have operated with a scattergun approach off it throughout the transfer window, but regardless of how they landed on Casemiro, they have settled on the type of player they needed most.
Erik ten Hag has been accused in some quarters of veering off course, abandoning his philosophy early doors and giving up on his quest to sign a slick, progressive, deep-lying playmaker in favour of landing a traditional enforcer.
Also read: Why Casemiro chose United
United need both of those types of players, but it is a combative midfielder they have required for several years and it beggars belief to see the pursuit of five-times European Cup winner Casemiro questioned when Christian Eriksen started the humbling by Brentford at the base of midfield.
Ten Hag was an idealist when he arrived at United but Brighton and Brentford have turned him into a realist. De Jong would have been an excellent addition but, like Eriksen, he would not have cut the mustard as a holder.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp play attractive brands of football but it is not lost on them that their front fives must be propped up by steely operators—City have Rodri and Liverpool have Fabinho. Further down the food chain, Tottenham have signed Yves Bissouma, Arsenal have Thomas Partey and Chelsea have N'Golo Kante. West Ham and Leicester rounded out last season's top eight and they have Declan Rice and Wilfred Ndidi respectively.
Some sceptics are questioning Casemiro's age—30—yet Kevin De Bruyne is the best player in the Premier League at 31 and the 34-year-old Karim Benzema is a shoo-in for the Ballon d'Or. Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, outscored Harry Kane in the league last season and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, into his 41st year, is a Serie A champion. Age is just a number.
Ten Hag's fixation on De Jong threatened to derail United's window and Friday marked 100 days since their interest in the Netherlands midfielder became public knowledge, yet United are likely to confirm Casemiro's arrival less than a week after scarcely believable reports linking the Brazilian with a move to Old Trafford first surfaced.
"Why would he want to join United?" has been a popular question this week. Real Madrid having spent £85million on Aurelien Tchoumeni in June has something to do with it, but United sources insist Casemiro genuinely wants to test himself in the Premier League. That may well be an elaborate glib—after all, why would he want to swap the Spanish and European champions for a club in crisis? It's not possible to answer that definitively, but Casemiro has at least been decisive while De Jong dithered.
Casemiro's qualities were laid bare in an open letter penned by Luka Modric and Toni Kroos on Friday night, and Kroos had a word of warning for his new United teammates: be prepared for Casemiro's intensity.
"With you, my dear Case, it was impossible not to break a sweat, in any situation. Because you wouldn't let us relax even in the Turkish bath. Staying there was another torment: you told someone to go and you almost had exercise bikes and weights ready there. A notice for your new colleagues to know."
Casemiro will raise the standards.
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