Paul Scholes has lavished praise on a Manchester United summer signing, saying the player is ‘as close to’ an Old Trafford legend as he’s seen.
Man Utd had a busy summer transfer window as they looked to change the squad in keeping with Erik ten Hag’s demands. Several big names left, including Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata.
Man Utd went on to sign six new players. They spent big money on Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Antony. Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia arrived from Feyenoord in a £14.7million deal, too.
Ten Hag also managed to capture creative midfielder Christian Eriksen on a free transfer following the expiry of his Brentford contract, while Martin Dubravka joined on a six-month loan from Newcastle United.
The signings of Casemiro, Martinez and Eriksen have all been inspired. When those three have been fit, they have transformed the way Man Utd play, as well as most of their results.
Antony and Malacia are still getting used to life at Man Utd. But they both have bright futures and Ten Hag will be confident about getting the best out of them in the long run. Dubravka, meanwhile, has gone back to Newcastle and been replaced by Jack Butland.
Casemiro in particular has been a sensational addition to the Man Utd starting eleven. When he plays, the Red Devils look solid in midfield, while he also has the ability to get forward and help with attacks. But when the Brazilian is unavailable, Man Utd appear far weaker and are much easier to play against.
During an appearance on BT Sport, Scholes has waxed lyrical about Casemiro and compared him to Man Utd legend Roy Keane, who won seven Premier League titles between 1993 and 2006.
Player excelling for Man Utd under Ten Hag guidance “You can see the difference when he’s not in the team,” Scholes said. “You think of the Arsenal game when he wasn’t there.
“I always talk about having a coach on the football pitch, almost being the manager on the pitch. For Ten Hag, he [Casemiro] is that man. He knows where he wants everybody to be. I’ve said it before, but I’ve been a little bit surprised by the quality of his play.
“At Real Madrid it was all about [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric. But his passing forward and awareness of people around him has been fantastic. People say he’s a holding midfield player, I don’t see that. I think he does everything and he’s as close to Roy Keane as I’ve seen.
“As a Man Utd midfielder you should be involved in everything; you should be able to go forward, to play a pass and defend. I think he’s been fantastic.”
Scholes is not the only person to be surprised by Casemiro’s positive play. Ten Hag is giving him licence to get forward more and help link up Man Utd attacks, which means we are seeing a more technical version of the 30-year-old.
Comparing Casemiro to Keane is huge praise, but it is fully justified. At the moment, Casemiro appears able to do pretty much everything. That includes winning tackles, intercepting opposition passes, switching the play and scoring goals.
Meanwhile, a pundit has predicted what the Prem’s top three will look like by the end of the season, with Man Utd moving upwards.
Man Utd ‘have three blockbuster signings ruled out’ as Qatar transfer plans come to light
A Qatari Sheikh has confirmed his bid for Man Utd.
The Qatari bid hoping to land Manchester United in an eye-watering £5billion purchase will not ‘go crazy’ in the transfer window at Old Trafford, according to reports. The Red Devils will have the funds to buy the world’s best talent should Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani’s formal offer be accepted.
Al Thani announced on Friday evening that his bid to buy United had been made. The Raine Group bank overseeing the process set a soft deadline of 10pm on Friday evening for all offers to be made, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group also submitting an offer shortly after the Qataris.
A Qatari-owned Man Utd will reportedly not buy Neymar or Lionel Messi (Image: Getty)
The Qataris are reportedly confident that they can provide evidence that their bid is separate from the sovereign wealth fund. But they would still have incredible funds available to transform the 20-times English league champions.
Should Al Thani’s bid be accepted, attention will turn to what United will do in the transfer market. They will reportedly not sign the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, and will supposedly not ‘go crazy’ in the market.
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted an offer for Man Utd (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
That is according to Sky Sports, who claim that despite United not wanting to sign the Paris Saint-Germain trio, they could become ‘serious contenders’ for Jude Bellingham and Victor Osimhen should a takeover go through – and will undoubtedly have more funds to spend than they did in January. Bellingham and Osimhen have been linked with United to solve their midfield and attacking problems, respectively.
Qatar’s involvement in PSG has seen Neymar, Messi and Mbappe all loosely linked with United. But it seems none of the French club’s attacking triumvirate will make the move to Old Trafford.
Al Thani, 40, is making his bid through his Nine Two Foundation. A statement released on Friday evening said: “Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club.
“The bid plans to return the Club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and – above all – will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once more.
The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the Club supports.
“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world. More details of the bid will be released, when appropriate, if and when the bid process develops.”
Source: express.co.uk; teamtalk.com
