Immense praise for Man Utd star as Ten Hag favourite compared to seven times Premier League champion
Paul Scholes has lavished praise on a Manchester United summer signing, saying the player is ‘as close to’ an Old Trafford legend as he’s seen.
Man Utd had a busy summer transfer window as they looked to change the squad in keeping with Erik ten Hag’s demands. Several big names left, including Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata.
Man Utd went on to sign six new players. They spent big money on Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Antony. Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia arrived from Feyenoord in a £14.7million deal, too.
Ten Hag also managed to capture creative midfielder Christian Eriksen on a free transfer following the expiry of his Brentford contract, while Martin Dubravka joined on a six-month loan from Newcastle United.
The signings of Casemiro, Martinez and Eriksen have all been inspired. When those three have been fit, they have transformed the way Man Utd play, as well as most of their results.
Antony and Malacia are still getting used to life at Man Utd. But they both have bright futures and Ten Hag will be confident about getting the best out of them in the long run. Dubravka, meanwhile, has gone back to Newcastle and been replaced by Jack Butland.
Casemiro in particular has been a sensational addition to the Man Utd starting eleven. When he plays, the Red Devils look solid in midfield, while he also has the ability to get forward and help with attacks. But when the Brazilian is unavailable, Man Utd appear far weaker and are much easier to play against.
During an appearance on BT Sport, Scholes has waxed lyrical about Casemiro and compared him to Man Utd legend Roy Keane, who won seven Premier League titles between 1993 and 2006.
Player excelling for Man Utd under Ten Hag guidance
“You can see the difference when he’s not in the team,” Scholes said. “You think of the Arsenal game when he wasn’t there.
“I always talk about having a coach on the football pitch, almost being the manager on the pitch. For Ten Hag, he [Casemiro] is that man. He knows where he wants everybody to be. I’ve said it before, but I’ve been a little bit surprised by the quality of his play.
“At Real Madrid it was all about [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric. But his passing forward and awareness of people around him has been fantastic. People say he’s a holding midfield player, I don’t see that. I think he does everything and he’s as close to Roy Keane as I’ve seen.
“As a Man Utd midfielder you should be involved in everything; you should be able to go forward, to play a pass and defend. I think he’s been fantastic.”
Scholes is not the only person to be surprised by Casemiro’s positive play. Ten Hag is giving him licence to get forward more and help link up Man Utd attacks, which means we are seeing a more technical version of the 30-year-old.
Comparing Casemiro to Keane is huge praise, but it is fully justified. At the moment, Casemiro appears able to do pretty much everything. That includes winning tackles, intercepting opposition passes, switching the play and scoring goals.
