GARY NEVILLE has claimed that Casemiro was “not a smart signing” despite the Brazilian’s huge impact on Manchester United.
The Red Devils are enjoying their most impressive season in years and claimed their first piece of silverware under Erik ten Hag on Sunday.
Casemiro, 31, is widely seen as one of the club’s star performers and has excelled in United’s midfield despite a mixed reaction to his signing last summer.
Despite admitting Casemiro’s impact has been “devastating”, Neville believes his signing was an outlier in United’s transfer strategy and will not replicated next season.
He said on the Overlap podcast: “I feel like Ten Hag is not going to sign [expensive, high-profile players]. If new owners come in they’re going to want to make a statement, they’ll want to blow the transfer market open. I don’t think that will suit him.
“I think that’s the type of player he’ll want to add to this squad rather than saying, ‘Oh, Kylian Mbappe’s available or so-and-so is available’.
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“But Casemiro, there’s no doubt – we all said it by the way – £60m? £70m? And £20m-a-year [contract] for five years is a £170m investment. That is a massive investment.
“It’s not a smart or shrewd signing when you look at it from a [big picture] point of view. None of us thought that.
“I think he’ll want those younger, hungrier ones that have still got that growth rather than the finished article.”
But Neville fully accepts that the transfer has been a huge success for his former club.
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The Sky Sports pundit adds: “The impact he’s having in the short term and what Manchester United need now, he’s devastating for the club in unbelievable ways.”
Casemiro scored the opener in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle as United grabbed their first trophy since 2017.
It was his latest contribution in a season which has seen the star add plenty of bite and power to United’s midfield.
He has appeared in 17 of United’s 24 league games, missing a handful due to suspension.
Casemiro has contributed two goals and three assists and fans have raved about his winning mentality.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
