Fulham star gave Manchester United their most obvious transfer reminder

Erik ten Hag insisted his side would be able to cope without Casemiro, but the truth is that they barely did against Fulham in their FA Cup quarter-final win.

United were always going to be affected by the absence of arguably their two most important players in Raphael Varane and Casemiro, but the drop-off in quality was glaringly enormous.

Fulham started the match brightly with a flurry of corners and only grew in confidence when it became apparent that United simply were there to be beaten in midfield.

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There were a few impressive individual moments defensively to keep their side level early on, but this very much felt like a team of individuals assembled to put a plaster over the damage done to their line up.

Fulham always looked like a threat, even if they proved to be lacking in the final third, with Joao Palhinha forming the foundation for their impressive gameplan to function.

The 27-year-old has arguably been Fulham's best player on their impressive return to the top flight, and he could well be playing back in Europe next season, even if his current club side aren't.

Palhinha had impressed in the first meeting between the two sides last November and relished the opportunity to assert his dominance against a United side with a weakened spine.

United were one of the sides loosely linked with the forming Sporting star last week, and although a move for him seems highly unlikely this summer, another player in his mould is certainly required.

Ten Hag has been unfortunate that his side's reliance on Casemiro has been exploited so often this season, and they will hope his suspension issues are a freak occurrence rather than form going forward.

However, if they want to