If Manchester United had any reservations about cutting short Casemiro’s Premier League spell, Monday’s capitulation at Crystal Palace would have dispelled those with the same forcefulness as Michael Olise took his two goals in that 4-0 hammering.
Few players in the Red Devils recent history have seen their reputations – and their performances – decline quite as sharply as Casemiro’s. Less than 12 months ago, he scored one and assisted another in a 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea which secured Champions League football for Manchester United.
Flash forward to May 2024, and both he and his club appear to be crying out for a fresh start and a clean break.
Lady Luck may be smiling down on Man United, at least. After Chelsea and Liverpool were offered the chance to trim their ageing squads by the riches of the Saudi Pro League last summer, Al-Nassr could come to United’s rescue this.
According to Caught Offside, Casemiro is in line for a reunion with his former United and Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr reportedly willing to add £35 million to the Red Devils‘ coffers in the process.
Angel Gomes looks like ideal Manchester United midfielder
Of course, Casemiro will need replacing. Links with Joao Neves, Amadou Onana and more indicate that a young, athletic number six is high on Man United’s summer wishlist.
A deep-lying midfielder with the poise and the creativity to break the lines from the base of the engine room, while also possessing the energy and mobility to get around the pitch.
United, however, did have a player who ticks most of those boxes at one point. But with their fabled academy suffering like every other aspect of the club under Glazer ownership, Angel Gomes felt he had no choice but to leave Old Trafford in pursuit of more regular first-team football.
He’s certainly found it in France. Still only 23, the London-born string-puller could be showcasing his tempo-setting talents on Europe’s biggest stage next season too, while Man United face up to another season of (at best) Thursday night football.
‘Champions League quality’
“For now, I’m thinking about finishing the season well,” Gomes, part of England’s victorious Euro U21 squad in 2023, tells La Voix du Nord.
“It has been a very positive season for me. I have improved many parts of my game. I think I have the quality to play in the Champions League.”
Gomes, during England’s run to the final of last summer’s U23 European Championships, provided a reminder as to why he was once seen as the cream of his Carrington crop. While not quite as tough-tackling as Casemiro, Gomes is evolving into an elite ball-progresser and an ultra-smart distributor. One ideal for any manager looking to instil a possession-based gameplan.
His 91 per cent pass completion rate is higher than any Man United midfielder – including one Kobbie Mainoo – while a tally of seven assists highlights Gomes’ ability to carve open even tightly-packed opposition backlines with his scalpel-like through balls (WhoScored).
Did United lose the original Kobbie Mainoo
“Angel is maybe the most intelligent player I have in my team,” says Paulo Fonseca, whose Lille side are fourth and closing in on UCL qualification.
“He understands faster than the others everything about the game. He loves the game, he loves to learn and he is a player with big skills, big technique. (Gomes) is a player who, under pressure, it is not easy to steal the ball off him and he finds the space so easily.”
“He is young. He has a big talent. I believe with the right coach, with the right project, with the right game for him, he can have a possibility to have a big step in his career.”
The galling aspect is that, if Gomes had emerged onto the scene at Carrington a few years later, around the same time as Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, he would probably be a first-team regular under Erik ten Hag already. All the while saving Man United millions in the transfer market.
Neves, for instance, is valued by Benfica in excess of £100 million. And he isn’t even as far along in his development as Gomes.
At least, with Man United’s next generation offering real hope for a brighter future, the mistakes of the past – when youngsters such as Gomes and Paul Pogba felt they had little choice but to leave to boost their development – appear to have been learned from.
And not a moment too soon.