Casemiro from Real Madrid to Manchester United: Is he worth 70million euros?

 Casemiro, the Real Madrid defensive midfielder, is on his way to Manchester United for 70 million euros

Casemiro has won it all with Real Madrid. He has won 3 La Liga, 1 Copa Del Rey and most importantly 4 Champions League trophies. According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United has decided to buy the Brazilian international for 60 million euros + 10 million euros transfer fee.

 It seems that the 30-year-old is looking for a new challenge according to his boss at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti. Casemiro is undoubtedly a world-class player, but given his age and the transfer fee, Manchester United fans are wondering if he is worth it? Are there other options that are cheaper or benefit the team in the long run? 

Let us take a quick look at Casemiro's numbers and see if we can find a player that would be a more sensible transfer that would help Man United in the long run.

Casemiro Player Profile

Last season, Casemiro contributed massively to Real Madrid winning the Champions League and La Liga. Although Casemiro's offensive output is low as a defensive midfielder, he has solid defensive skills and good vision that can help Erik Ten Hag with his build-up play.

Casemiro has a value of 0.08 for non penalty expected goals . This puts him in the top 30% of midfielders in the Big 5 Leagues. He is also in the top 30% for expected assists with 0.09 xA per 90.

With 60 completed passes per game, Casemiro is in the top 5% of all midfielders in the Top 5 Leagues last season. Casemiro is also a decent progressive passer. His 5.04 completed passes per 90 puts him in the top 20%. Casemiro completed 6.34 passes into the final third per 90.

Casemiro stands out most for his defensive abilities. Casemiro has 40.2% successful pressures per 90, which puts him in the top 1% in the top 5 leagues. His 3.15 tackles per 90 puts him in the top 13% of all midfielders. He also ranks in the top 5% of midfielders with 12.16 ball recoveries per 90. His 2.07 interceptions per 90 puts him in the top 12% of midfielder.

Casemiro's Player Profile

Sensible options

While Casemiro sounds like the solution to all of Manchester United's problems, Casemiro is more of a stopgap or temporary solution. Casemiro was offered a 4-year contract, but I do not expect Casemiro to be able to perform the same way he did at Real Madrid and 70 million euros is just too much. So here are three players who can be a better option for Man United.

1. Leandro Paredes: Creative option (17 million euros)

Leandro Paredes played for PSG last season and ranked fourth in pressing success rate in the top 5 leagues. Compared to Casemiro, Paredes has the same number of successful pressing attempts and aerial wins percentage.

Paredes is better at progressive carries, ranking in the top 35 percent with 5.48 progressive carries per 90. Paredes is also better in Non- penalty goals ranking in the top 25 percent. Casemiro, on the other hand, is better at tackling, intercepting balls and recovering balls. Paredes is more of an option for build-up play than a solid defender.

Casemiro vs Paredes Pizza Chart

2. Fran Beltran: B plan option (15 million euros)

Beltran played 29 games for Celta Vigo in La Liga last season. Beltran ranks 17th in the top 5 in Leagues in pressing success rate. Beltran is more solid defensively than Paredes, but has deficiencies in the air and in the creative area, as he ranks in the bottom 7% of xA.

However, he is still an improvement when it comes to progressive carries into the final 1/3. I do not think Fran Beltran is the short-term solution United is looking for, but he can provide a good defensive player in the longer term.

Casemiro vs Fran Beltran comparsion

    

 

3. Kouadio Kone: The Long-Term Option (18 million euros)

The youngest and most expensive suggestion is Borussia M'gladbach's defensive midfielder Kouadio Kone. The French international first played regularly for Toulouse in Ligue 2 before moving to the Bundesliga.

At M'gladbach, Kone played a total of 27 games and had a success rate of 38.2%. This puts him in 7th place among the most successful pressing players in the top 5 leagues and 2nd in the Bundesliga behind Salih Ozcan, who moved to Borussia Dortmund.

Compared to Casemiro, Kone has a better interceptions per 90 and carries the ball forward more than Casemiro. However, Kone may need to work on his ball winning and aerial duels as well as his passing game to reach Casemiro's level.

At 20 years old, Kouadio Kone can be moulded into any type of midfielder. With some work on his passing and defensive work, I think he will become the perfect long-term option for Manchester United.

Kouadio Kone vs Casemiro

Conclusion

Manchester United just signed 4-time Champions League winner Casemiro for €70 million from Real Madrid. Casemiro could be the solution to Manchester United's current problems. But spending 70 million euros on a temporary solution does not seem to be the best move by Manchester United's management.

Want to read more about the latest transfers?

Check out my video analysis of De Keletaere, who recently moved to AC Milan.

or

Check out my data analysis of another defensive midfielder: Kalvin Phillips, who recently moved to Manchester City.