Rio Ferdinand says United have not had a player like Casemiro ‘for many years’

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Rio Ferdinand has given his verdict on the man of the match display by Casemiro on his full Premier League debut for Manchester United.

The former Real Madrid anchorman has had to be patient since his summer move but finally got his maiden league start against Everton on Sunday night.

It did not get off to a good start as the Brazilian gave the ball away in the buildup to Alex Iwobi’s goal, which opened the scoring for Everton.

But Casemiro robbed Iwobi before laying on United’s winner, which was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 700th goal in club football.

Ferdinand on Casemiro

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio paid tribute to Casemiro, saying: “He got man of the match. A couple of us in the studio were calling for that, but I don’t have final say. I did pay attention to him for most of this game because I was intrigued to see how he would adapt.

“So many players would have folded after that mistake and in three games this season, United have capitulated to after going 1-0 down. For the assist, he gave the ball away, and did not buy Iwobi’s stepover, won it back and with the ball he’s decent. Defensively, he was picking up positions as a defender, I would be saying ‘thank you’.

“He’s picking up pockets, and getting into spaces where opposition players cannot pass the ball. He’s so valuable for other players, he makes other players better. It’s a fine art.

“He’s the only midfielder in the squad – not the team, the squad – who knows how to instinctively defend and wants to be there and defend. It gives us a platform and gives stability to give us something we haven’t had for many years.”

When Casemiro came in, it was expected that he, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes would make up United’s midfield trio.

It has taken some time but we might be getting to that point now, although Scott McTominay has been excellent this season.

McTominay has picked up five bookings and will therefore miss the clash with Newcastle at the weekend, which should give Casemiro another league start.

He will want to show his quality for the full 90 minutes this time around and hopefully contribute to another United win.