Replacing Casemiro was Man Utd’s primary task this window, but they’ve got a long-overdue Christian Eriksen upgrade instead.
The last time Man Utd truly ticked for one full season was during Erik ten Hag’s debut season at Old Trafford.
He had Casemiro and Christian Eriksen at the base of his midfield, and the pair turned back the clock to provide the foundation for that success.
Three years on, neither is at the club, and United, while trying to replace Casemiro, have signed an Eriksen upgrade.
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Youri Tielemans is a Christian Eriksen upgrade
It’s not a coincidence that United failed to reach the same heights of Ten Hag’s debut season after Eriksen left, even though Casemiro was still here.
Kobbie Mainoo’s breakthrough soothed the pain somewhat. United Eriksen-Casemiro was the perfect mix of ball progression and defensive nous.
The Brazilian had what the Dane lacked, and vice versa.
By being close to signing Youri Tielemans this summer, United are finally replacing a player whose skillset they’ve been lacking since then.
It has led to Bruno Fernandes trying to become Eriksen, having to drop deep and progress the ball with passing, since Mainoo is more of a ball carrier instead.
Tielemans’ style of play, therefore, perfectly replaces what Eriksen was for United, but as an upgrade, because he’s added physicality and duel-winning to his game at Aston Villa.
In trying to sign a replacement for Casemiro, United have finally signed a player who is an upgrade on the player who made their midfield tick alongside Casemiro.
Man Utd still need to cover for one Casemiro skill
United have replaced Casemiro’s goalscoring by getting Santos, who is prolific in midfield, and they’ve added passing acumen with Tielemans.
WHO will be Man Utd’s THIRD midfielder signing to go with Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans? Who do you want?
Which midfielder do you think would fit United's rebuild best? What do we need next?
The only thing remaining to complete the midfield rebuild is some defensive nous and ground-coverage, something debut-season Casemiro excelled at.
Ineos have taken a moneyball view to replacing Casemiro, where the skill sets found in a single player have been replaced via a committee rather than a like-for-like player.
A third midfielder will be an athletic specimen who covers ground, sniffs out attacks, and sets the defensive tone for his teammates.
That’s how the midfield rebuild will be complete. It was never about the price tag. It was always about the profiles.
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