Erik ten Hag quickly realized that Manchester United needed to add more players to the middle when he took over as manager, so the club paid a huge £70 million to get Casemiro.
The Brazilian player was amazing in his first season. He helped the club win the Carabao Cup, ending a six-year title drought and also made it into the Champions League with a third-place league finish.
His second season in England, on the other hand, has been a nightmare, in part because of injuries and in part because the boss changed the way the team plays.
Ten Hag chose to play a more possession-based style in the first season, and the team guarded in a mid-block, which worked well for the Brazilian, who constantly won back the ball and started quick counterattacks.
Problems Casemiro is having
This season, Ten Hag told his team to play a high-transition game. This gave the five-time Champions League winner way too much room to mark, and because he is getting older, he wasn’t able to protect the back four well enough.
Teams from the other side have had no trouble getting through United’s sloppy press, and the Brazil international has had trouble keeping up with runners, often slip-ups in the middle of the field to avoid doing his job.
The former Real Madrid star has missed 17 games this season because of injuries, which is the fault of United’s poor medical staff. This has slowed him down so much that Casemiro looks very slow and sluggish.
The club’s new co-owners, INEOS, were not happy that they agreed to such a short-term deal for such a large sum of money. They plan to let the 32-year-old go in the summer.
Serie A teams and Saudi Arabian teams are both interested in the defensive midfielder. A move to the Middle East seems most likely, since United wants to get back a lot of the money they paid Real Madrid for him two years ago. The player makes £450,000 a week, plus bonuses (according to capology).
Now, the Turkish newspaper Aksam says that both Galatasaray and Fenerbahce want to sign the Brazilian player. This could lead to a transfer war this summer.
“Galatasaray is still working on the next season because they are moving on to the Super League championship.” Casemiro is a star player that both the yellow-and-reds and Fenerbahçe want.
Turkey plays tug-of-war for Casemiro
“As soon as the new deal with Buruk is signed, the Yellow-Reds’ management will start looking for a way to move Casemiro.” Getting the Brazilian star to join Galatasaray is their first goal.
It’s not clear if they can pay Casemiro’s huge salary, but the former Sao Paulo player might find it impossible to turn down the chance to stay in Europe, play in the Champions League, and win more trophies.
A lot of South American stars, like Mauro Icardi and Fred, who used to play for Manchester United, have had success after going to Turkey near the end of their careers. Casemiro could do the same thing.
This is great for United because the more teams that want to sign the center superstar, the more likely it is that United will be able to get a high price through a bidding war.