OWEN HARGREAVES has identified a Sir Alex Ferguson tactic that Casemiro has brought back to Manchester United.
The midfielder has been key to United’s success this season and has won several plaudits since his summer arrival.
GettyOwen Hargreaves picked Casemiro as his Manchester United Player of the Year[/caption]
And Hargreaves, who played under Ferguson at Old Trafford between 2007-2011, has noticed a key aspect of Casemiro’s game that makes him so important.
The former England international explained on BT Sport: “Sir Alex always said: ‘When you win the ball back, play forward.’
“He [Casemiro] wins it and he passes forward, he gets it to Bruno [Fernandes] or he gets it to [Christian] Eriksen, who play in Marcus [Rashford] or any of the attacking players.”
Casemiro has been vital to United and Erik ten Hag’s style of play in both attack and defence.
Incredibly, the Brazilian has lost just four of the 40 games he has played since joining, while without Casemiro the Red Devils have lost four out of 11.
That is one of the reasons why Hargreaves picked him as United’s player of the season, claiming they are a different side without the 31-year-old.
He added: “My player of the year? Marcus made headlines, but the team is really different when Casemiro isn’t playing.
“It affects David de Gea, the four defenders and the midfield balance ground. It is the basic element.”
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Casemiro has been highly praised by many pundits and was even likened to club legend Roy Keane by Paul Scholes earlier this season.
He said: “He’s a proper Manchester United midfielder that gets involved in everything.
“You see him up the pitch, you see him defending, you see him controlling the game at times. He’s probably as close to Roy Keane as you’re going to get. I think he’s been brilliant. I think ‘holding midfielder’ just does him a little bit of an injustice.”