It seems as though Casemiro’s exit from Real Madrid to Manchester United is only missing the formalities before the deal is confirmed.
However how exactly Real Madrid plan to assume that loss is far less clear. Once it became clear that there was a good chance of the Casemiro deal going through, Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes emerged as an early candidate to strengthen their midfield, as per Diario AS and ESPN (via Mundo Deportivo). The Brazilian transformed Newcastle’s midfield after arriving in January and is well thought of in Madrid.
Jose Felix Diaz, who was the first Madrid source to confirm the Casemiro deal was done, has claimed that Real Madrid have no plans to enter the market. Mundo Deportivo’s Pepe Gil-Vernet has also reported that this would be the case.
Ha sido lo que se dice radio en directo… 😜
La idea del Real Madrid, si se cierra lo de Casemiro, es ir al mercado… no necesariamente para un centrocampista.
El plan para Asensio sigue siendo que salga, pero tiene contrato y depende de él… https://t.co/7JMpZqIIUH
— Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) August 18, 2022
Further muddying the matter, Diaz’s Marca colleague Mario Cortegana told RadioMarca that Real Madrid would be interested in making a further signing, but that it may not be a replacement for Casemiro or indeed a midfielder.
It appears there is very little clarity on the matter amid the media. It could well be that different sections of the Real Madrid hierarchy have different intentions. Equally the signing of Guimaraes seems a tricky negotiation with the nouveau riche Newcastle. Overall, Real Madrid probably signed Aurelien Tchouameni to compete with Casemiro anyway and the position is well-covered.
Casemiro’s arrival will address the greater chunk of Man U’s problem in the midfield even though there areas that need overhaul just as there others that need reinforcements. More signings needed. Sharp central attacker and defender, right side winger, side defender, in-form competitive goal keeper and progressive play-making midfielder are still needed in the squad. Insinuations that the club’s legends and stakeholders including the underwhelmed owners were interfering with activities of the coach need to be examined and addressed holistically if all said become true. Man U was in trial and mess for a decade.