£33m Manchester United target has shone against Casemiro twice this season

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Recent dip in form aside, not many players have successfully managed to shrug Casemiro aside since the Real Madrid legend brought his unique-brand of wrecking ball football to Manchester United last summer.

But Amadou Onana, a decade the Brazilian’s junior, certainly made light work of his multi-Champions League-winning rival during January’s FA Cup clash between Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils and Frank Lampard’s Everton at Old Trafford.

Onana ragdolled Casemiro in the build up to Everton’s rather comical opener; sending Man United’s number 18 sprawling onto the turf with a swing of his considerable shoulders.

With TEAMtalk now reporting that Onana is on Erik ten Hag’s summer wishlist – a commanding, young central midfielder high on United’s radar alongside a new goalkeeper and an elite ‘number nine’ – it is tempting to cast our minds back four months and ask whether that highly-competitive cup clash on a January night in Manchester was the moment when Onana registered on the former Ajax boss’s radar.

Could Manchester United sign Everton’s Amadou Onana?

Onana completed 88 per cent of his passes during that third round clash. He also managed three successful tackles and two interceptions. Using his telescopic, almost Aaron Wan-Bissaka-style ball-winning ability to break up United’s possession and spark counter-attacks (WhoScored).

This is not the first time Onana had caught Casemiro unawares either. As United won at Goodison Park in October, it was Onana again who dispossessed the 31-year-old in a crucial moment. Laying the foundations for Alex Iwobi’s sumptuous opener.

A young player making his first strides in the Premier League; Onana may have been forgiven for feeling a little overawed. Especially when coming up against arguably the finest defensive midfielder of the modern era. But, as former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez points out, Onana is not one to let the occasion get the better of him.

Or, in fact, the reputation of his opposition.

‘One of the most talented young players in Europe’

“He’s a strong personality,” Martinez said following Onana’s £33 million move from Lille to Everton.

“He never hides. He asks for the ball and he dares. He’s one of the most talented young players in Europe.”

Onana, if he does arrive at Old Trafford, will be seen by many as an understudy to Casemiro. If those two meetings have taught us anything, however, it’s that Casemiro cannot let his guard drop for a second. Not with Onana around.

Casemiro currently averages more tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League. But it is Onana’s 84 per cent pass completion rate, compared to Casemiro’s 78, which marks him out as a man potentially more naturally-suited to Ten Hag’s preferred, possession-heavy system. Not to mention his highly-impressive versatility.

“I think I can play every position in centre midfield,” Onana tells The Guardian. “Whether that’s as a holding midfielder or a box-to-box as a number eight Wherever the manager needs me, I will play there.”