The star player from Manchester United has been great in France this season.
It’s been a terrible season for Manchester United, and the fact that Erik ten Hag’s future is now unclear only makes things worse.
But that’s also true for a lot of Manchester United players. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now looking to sign young players who are good value for money.
The new owner wants to bring in a new playmaker right away because that position has been called out as a problem lately.
Casemiro, a former star player for Real Madrid, has done that a lot on the field.
Casemiro’s 23/24 season
Casemiro filled the defensive center hole that had been holding Man United back for years. He played in 51 games across all categories last season.
But the £70 million they paid for the Brazilian now seems like a huge mistake. The veteran’s poor play this season, especially since he came back from injury in January, is a big worry.
As shown by his 82% pass efficiency in the league this season, the player has two big flaws that can’t be ignored. The first is that he doesn’t bring much control to the team.
Another problem is that he isn’t very fast and can’t cover much ground. Sports commentator Jamie Redknapp said, “Casemiro looks like he’s playing in Soccer Aid.”
Angel Gomes could have fixed the middle of Manchester United’s pitch.
Angel Gomes left the club where he played as a child in 2020 to get more playing time, which worked out for the player but not for the team.
After turning down a new contract offer at Old Trafford, the English player left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and signed French team Lille on a free move. After that, he was sent on loan to Boavista in Portugal.
As of now, the former United “wonderkid,” as football scout Jacek Kulig called him, is a key player in the middle of the Ligue 1 team’s defense and is doing an amazing job.
United needs a player with a lot of different skills right now. The 23-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder, a box-to-box player, or even a defensive midfielder in a double pivot.
| Gomes’ 23/24 Ligue 1 Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats (per game) | Gomes | League Percentile |
| Assists | 0.26 | Top 1% |
| Key passes | 1.49 | Top 18% |
| Progressive passes | 7.19 | Top 17% |
| Shot-creating actions | 3.73 | Top 12% |
| Passes completed | 53.86 | Top 17% |
| Touches | 67.11 | Top 32% |
| Via FBref | ||
On the other hand, as you can see from the table above, he’s more of a player who makes the team safe by keeping the ball than by playing defense, which is different from Casemiro’s style of play.
Gomes, who is only 5 feet 6 inches tall, makes the most of his small size by easily getting out of tight spots and fighting the press. This helps his team be strong in the building phase.
That being said, the number 8’s best quality is that he can use his great vision to show off his huge throwing range, which also lets him be artistic.
Gomes has six assists in 25 Ligue 1 games, which puts him in the top 1% of midfielders in terms of assists. However, that number could have been higher since he’s set up ten big chances.
CIES Football Observatory says that Gomes is now worth an estimated £26m. This shows what a huge mistake United made by not giving Gomes a chance to do well.
In a strange way, the Lille star meets all of Ratcliffe’s needs for a new midfielder: he is cheap, young, and has a lot of promise.
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