Man Utd ready to sign off on bargain £61m deal to bring perfect Casemiro replacement to Old Trafford

Manchester United are reportedly ready to pay out at least £61million to sign a long-term midfield replacement for veteran Brazilian star Casemiro.

The Red Devils forked out £60m to bring in Casemiro from Real Madrid in the summer of 2022, but after an impressive first campaign at Old Trafford this season has been more of a struggle for the 31-year-old.

The Brazil international will turn 32 in February and it’s thought that Erik ten Hag has already turned his thoughts to his successor.

Casemiro is currently sidelined with an ankle injury suffered on international duty and remained in his native Brazil to aid his recovery as United earned a narrow 2-1 win at Sheffield United on Saturday night.

However, he is expected to return to Carrington at the start of next week to have the problem assessed.

But, according to reports from Spain, Ten Hag is focused on landing a replacement for the said-to-be homesick former Real man – identifying Benfica’s Joao Neves to fill that role.

It was reported earlier in October that United are pushing to sign Neves, who has a release clause of €120m in Portugal.

Catalan media outlet Nacional claims that the Red Devils are willing to agree a fee of at least £61m (€70m) to secure his signature.

Neves made 17 appearances in Benfica’s title-winning last campaign and has so far featured eight times this season, helping the Eagles keep four clean sheets in the league with his defensive work from the engine room.

Neves also tasted Portuguese Super Cup glory after Benfica beat Porto 2-0 in the final, with the midfielder featuring for 75 minutes of that contest.

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Ten Hag sees Neves as future of Man Utd

His excellent performances at club level recently earned him his first international call-up and he made his debut for Portugal in the 5-0 victory over Bosnia last week.

And, it would appear that Neves is now very much in the sights of United as Ten Hag looks to bring down the age of his central midfield significantly.

Fresh from their victory at Bramall Lane, after an emotional evening following the loss of club legend Sir Bobby Charlton, United are back in action on Tuesday night when they host FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Ten Hag’s men will be desperate for all three points after losing their opening two group-stage fixtures.

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