We 'signed' Casemiro for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag finally found his midfield enforcer

Manchester United have approached Real Madrid with a proposal to sign Casemiro this summer, with Erik ten Hag desperate to improve his squad.

After United agreed a fee with Juventus for midfielder Adrien Rabiot, a deal for the Frenchman is now dead and buried following a breakdown in personal terms. Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong remains at the top of the club's wish list this summer, but with no progress being made over the last few weeks, attention has turned to Real Madrid's Casemiro.

The Manchester Evening News understands the Brazil international could be much more obtainable than De Jong at this moment, despite the 30-year-old having recently signed a new deal with Los Blancos. Casemiro was part of the midfield that beat Liverpool 1-0 in May's 2022 Champions League final, making it his fifth UCL final win since joining Madrid back in 2013.

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So, if United were to make a move for Casemiro this summer, how could the Brazilian impact Ten Hag's side? Could he become the midfielder that could push United back towards the top four?

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Casemiro to join United from Real Madrid, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers and the Premier League with the latest results.

Integrated straight into the squad, Casemiro quickly became the first name on the team sheet for Ten Hag, playing 43 games in his first season at the club. Starting as a defensive midfielder, the Brazilian managed a decent attacking contribution, grabbing three goals and six assists in all competitions.

The midfielder had an 89% pass success rate and a 79% tackle success rate, the