Casemiro has had a torrid start to the season at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Roy Keane is confident Casemiro will stay on at Manchester United despite his worrying form and believes Erik ten Hag made an error hauling the midfielder off against Liverpool.
Casemiro endured a tough end to last season amid United’s defensive injury woes, with the Brazilian forced to fill in as a makeshift centre-back in the absence of Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof.
The 32-year-old will have been desperate to prove his doubters wrong with a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign but he produced a horror-show display as United were swept aside by Liverpool on Sunday.
A clinical brace from Luis Diaz gave Liverpool a healthy two-goal advantage inside 42 minutes and Casemiro was largely to blame for both strikes, twice punished for giving away possession at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag decided to replace Casemiro with academy graduate Toby Collyer at the halfway stage but the substitution made little difference, with Mohamed Salah putting the visitors out of sight with an unanswered third in the 56th minute.
Footage soon began to circulate which appeared to show Casemiro leaving the the Theatre of Dreams before the final whistle had been blown, though Erik ten Hag insisted this was not the case when he faced the media.
It appears unlikely the five-time Champions League winner will continue his run in Ten Hag’s starting XI against Southampton when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
The Red Devils have picked up just three points for their first three games (Picture: Getty)
There has even been speculation that Casemiro could be set for a loan move to Galatasaray before the Super Lig’s transfer deadline on September 13, with talks reportedly ongoing between the two clubs.
However, legendary former United captain Keane is reluctant to write Casemiro off just yet and feels Ten Hag should try playing the Brazil international in a more advanced position.
‘I think he will [play again]. Where else is he going to go, unless something is done in the next week? He’ll definitely be here until January,’ Keane said on The Overlap.
‘The one thing I would say… he had a difficult first half, obviously, but he played in the Community Shield, done okay, played against Fulham, done okay.
Keane is not prepared to write Casemiro off just yet (Picture: Getty)
‘They should have beaten Brighton, Manchester City had half a team, I get it. But I wouldn’t be writing players off at that age.
‘We’re saying 31, 32… what happens, I’ve been there, when you get to that age and he had an unbelievably poor game which he did in the first half… everyone’s quick, as if none of us had a bad game when we were twenty two.
‘Everyone’s says, “Your legs are gone”, and you’re going, “Actually, my legs were gone a few years ago!”.’
Collyer came on in place of Casemiro against Liverpool (Picture: Getty)
The former Republic of Ireland international added: ‘I wouldn’t be writing him off yet.
‘Maybe his role in the team if he gets back in, gets a couple of games under his belt, might be higher up the pitch.
‘The first thing we always say is that he can’t get around the pitch but when you see him going forward he does have an eye for a pass and set-pieces, how many times do you see him get his head on it?
‘Will Casemiro get Man United back to competing with Man City? Of course not. But the deal is done, he’s at the club.’
Ten Hag finds himself under intense pressure just three matches into the league season (Picture: Getty)
Keane would have liked to have seen Casemiro given the chance to atone for his mistakes by staying on the pitch for the second half against Liverpool.
‘When he got taken off at half-time, I wouldn’t go as far as saying I feel sorry for him. Listen, he’s an experienced professional, he’s on a good deal, suck it up a little bit,’ he continued.
‘But when you make mistakes as a player, I bet he’s looking around going, “Lads…”.
‘I would have left him on. You bring on a young player and sometimes managers do that. They bring on a young player, a bit of PR, and this kid will probably be a decent player but when he comes on, he’s come on to a difficult situation at Old Trafford.
‘It’s not because of what he’s done previously, I still think there’s enough there that he could maybe give something to Man United.
‘But the problem is that they’re still so far behind City, Arsenal and, on the evidence of the weekend, of course there is Liverpool.’
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