Manchester United’s record in the transfer mistake is effectively a teaching manual of how to not run a football club and one of their mistakes, Casemiro, has sent them another reminder.
Man Utd’s January transfer window has been in a holding pattern due to their precarious financial situation which has as much to do with the transfer fees as it is to do with wages.
When it comes to wages, the prime target is undoubtedly the duo axed by Ruben Amorim already- Marcus Rashford and Casemiro.
- READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfer deals for January 2025, ins, outs, loan moves, deadline date
Both are proving difficult to shift, especially in January, because their wage packet no longer reflects the players they are.
Now, to add to that, what Casemiro has done this January will reinforce a major mistake United have kept making in the market since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
What Casemiro did in January
It is an open secret that Casemiro has been quietly axed from the team, unlike Rashford, with Toby Collyer’s emergence accelerating the process.
Amorim’s recent comments on Casemiro stressed the same that the Brazilian is no longer “intense” enough physically to fulfill the demands of his system.
In such a situation, it is best for the player to leave and restart his career in search of more games and ideally, a chance to compete at the top still.
However, The Times reported that Casemiro rejected the chance to sign for AS Roma this January, instead opting to wait for an offer from Saudi Arabia.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise what Casemiro is valuing at this point in his career (Spoiler: Money) but the fact he rejected Roma, and waited for Saudi but the offer never came only reinforces United’s mistake.
They kept buying players who were on the decline with nothing left to prove.
Man Utd’s long overdue transfer market pivot
The problem with buying players like Casemiro, wages and transfer fees aside, is that they arrive at the club having already had the peak of their careers elsewhere.
There’s a balance to be struck between bringing in a “proven winner” and getting a player who’s got nothing left to prove and plenty of miles in his legs.
Although the Saudi interest is also attracting many young players nowadays, the big difference is that young players are choosing them from many options.
For a player like Casemiro, Saudi Arabia seems like the only option and even when there’s another, like Roma in this case, it’s a step down since the only motivation at this stage in his career is money.
United’s transfer market pivot of targeting young players under Ineos was long overdue. They can’t repeat mistakes like these.
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