MANCHESTER UNITED new-boy Casemiro has named four players who can improve with him on the pitch including Cristiano Ronaldo.
The five-time Champions League winner, 30, has made just three starts since his £70million summer transfer from Real Madrid.
And he has started to find his feet, notching an assist in the 2-1 away win at Everton on Sunday, finding old Real team-mate Ronaldo in behind the Toffees’ defence who then netted his 700th club goal.
The Brazil star specialises in protecting the defence, and prides himself in ball recoveries and tackles.
Such specialties, Casemiro says, will help Man Utd’s attacking players thrive.
Casemiro says the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho will all reap the benefits of the balance he provides to the team.
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He told manutd.com: “Everybody knows my work. My role is defensive – to help my team-mates and bring the ball out from the back with quality.
“That’s my job. If goals come from it, excellent. We have other players whose first thought is to be scoring goals.
“There’s Cris [Cristiano Ronaldo], [Jadon] Sancho, [Marcus] Rashford and Bruno [Fernandes]. They’re on the pitch to score goals.
“I defend, first of all, and provide balance to the team. I help my team-mates with defensive work, bring the ball out with quality, that is my job.
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“Of course, a goal here or there is nice but doing my job and defending well comes first.”
Casemiro also admitted his wife “gets a bit annoyed” as he only watches football at home.
But he says it’s a key component to his success.
He added: “I watch a lot of football. I love it. My wife gets a bit annoyed, as there is only football on at home!
“Football is my passion, it’s my soul and I believe that’s been the key to my success. I love football. I love watching football.”
Casemiro will be hoping to hit some form heading into the Qatar World Cup this November-December.
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Brazil are one of the favourites to win the tournament, which will be their sixth.
Argentina are also strong contenders with major European superpowers faltering before the winter tournament.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
