Erik ten Hag might take a page from Sir Alex Ferguson’s playbook when considering Casemiro’s future at Manchester United after their 3-0 loss to Liverpool.
United endured another tough defeat against their arch-rivals at Old Trafford, with Luis Diaz scoring twice in the first half and Mohamed Salah adding a third after the break.
Casemiro made costly mistakes leading up to the first two goals, first by misplacing a pass and then losing possession to Diaz, which contributed to both goals….
Ten Hag substituted the Brazilian at halftime, bringing on young midfielder Toby Collyer, who was making his Premier League debut.
New signing Manuel Ugarte was unavailable for the Liverpool match as he wasn’t registered by the Premier League’s Friday 12pm deadline.
With Ugarte set to be eligible soon, Casemiro may no longer be guaranteed a starting spot.
Ten Hag now faces a decision on the 32-year-old’s role, as Casemiro has two years remaining on his four-year contract signed in 2022.
He may choose to emulate Ferguson’s approach, who famously said that he had to be ruthless in letting go of players who were no longer at their peak.
He said (via Manchester Evening News) “In terms of the regrets… the 1994 team I had, the back four all seemed to grow old together, and that’s a terrible thing to happen to the manager, because these guys were fantastic for me.
“[Paul] Parker, [Steve] Bruce, [Gary] Pallister, [Denis] Irwin – fantastic players.”They gave me nine or 10 years, and the evidence is always on the football field. They don’t see it. I see it. The problem for me is, ‘What do I do about it?'”I managed to organise a move for them, and they did well out of it. But telling them is very, very difficult.”
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