Erik ten Hag gives verdict on Casemiro's Manchester United debut

Erik ten Hag believes Casemiro will benefit from his first Premier League appearance as he becomes accustomed to the challenge of a new country and new teammates.

The £60million Brazilian made his Manchester United debut as he came on for the final 10 minutes of the 1-0 win against Southampton at St Mary's.

Casemiro produced a couple of vital interceptions, with United under pressure in the closing stages, and he also showed his leadership in communication with the defence and David de Gea.

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The 30-year-old arrived in Manchester on Monday after completing his transfer from Real Madrid and has trained with United at Carrington this week. But he had to settle for a place on the bench at Southampton, with Ten Hag picking the same team that beat Liverpool on Monday.

Casemiro got his chance late on, with United on the backfoot after Bruno Fernandes had given him the lead, and he showed his quality in a defensive midfield role.

"It was quite good for him to see the Premier League, it’s a different style. He has now a pre-season, he has played some games, he played one time 90 minutes, he is fit," said Ten Hag.

"He had a good pre-season with a lot of training sessions, we have to integrate him in a team and a way of playing and integrate him with his teammates."

United kept a first clean sheet of the season and the partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez again shone in defence, although Ten Hag was keen to praise the collective effort.

"I think we defend as a team, I was quite happy with most of it, I saw room for improvement, the back four was a real unit with David de Gea, togetherness, but also the two in front, Scott [McTominay] and [Christian] Eriksen, did