Gary Neville says Manchester United's Casemiro transfer shouldn't have happened

Gary Neville believes Manchester United's signing of Casemiro shouldn't have gone through because it was a short-term transfer.

Erik ten Hag made Frenkie de Jong his priority signing in the summer of 2022 and United pushed hard to sign the midfielder, only for his wage deferral at Barcelona to become a stumbling block in negotiations.

It's understood football director John Murtough had prepared a deal for Casemiro as an alternative option and the Brazilian was signed from Real Madrid at the end of August in a deal worth £70million. A four-year contract was given to Casemiro and many wondered whether that was logical given he was in the autumn of his career.

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Casemiro consistently produced world-class performances in his first year at Old Trafford and he played a key role in returning the club to the top four and winning a trophy, the Carabao Cup.

However, the 31-year-old was disappointing in the first half of the new season before picking up an injury and he's now attracting interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.

Neville believes the signing of Casemiro was a short-term fix and a deal that wouldn't have happened with a cohesive hierarchy.

“Coming in from an owner’s perspective, you employ a head of recruitment who you think is the best guy out there at spotting talent, that will bring value to your club," Neville told the Stick to Football podcast, in association with Sky Bet.

"You’ve got a sporting director equally, who will be thinking the same way – their loyalty is to the club and to make sure we win games. A manager’s job is purely to think about the immediate short term and getting results for himself.

"Casemir