Casemiro proved his doubters wrong. Now Manchester United must try to replace him

When Jamie Carragher urged footballers to “leave the game before the game leaves you,” the barb was aimed squarely at Casemiro after Manchester United’s 4-0 humiliation at Crystal Palace in May 2024. The Brazilian looked finished, a 32-year-old anchor undone by the Premier League’s pace and Erik ten Hag’s high-risk blueprint. Twelve months on, Casemiro is departing Old Trafford on his own terms, a two-year renaissance that has forced even his harshest critics to recalibrate the narrative.

Rather than cash a Saudi Pro League cheque and coast into semi-retirement, Casemiro remodelled his game. Accepting that legs can no longer carry him box-to-box, he became a disciplined screen in front of the back four, rationing his bursts and leaning on an uncanny knack for reading danger. aerially he remained dominant—United’s insurance policy at both set-piece extremes. Managers came and went, midfield structures shifted, yet the five-time Champions League winner never griped, simply adjusted.

That adaptability is precisely why filling the void will be the most delicate operation of United’s summer. Removing his £300,000-plus weekly wages helps the balance sheet, but replacing the intangible authority will cost serious coin. After funneling roughly £200 million last year into a new attack—Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko—Jason Wilcox and the recruitment team must now rebuild the engine room.

Kobbie Mainoo is the only midfielder pencilled in for 2026-27. Bruno Fernandes continues to attract Saudi suitors, while Manuel Ugarte’s fitful adaptation means United would entertain a sizeable offer. In short, the club may need two or three midfield bodies, with a specialist defensive pivot at the top of the wish-list.

Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, 22, remains the preferred profile: a Cameroonian destroyer with the pace and physicality to slot straight into Casemiro’s slot. United balked at a nine-figure valuation last July, but Baleba’s form since has done nothing to lower the price. Elliot Anderson, 23, is another home-grown option after forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England XI; Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will demand a premium for the Geordie, whose energy and passing range offer a more progressive twist on the Casemiro role.

Adam Wharton, 21, is the darling of Crystal Palace’s recent talent exodus, yet his game is built on distribution rather than destruction. He thrived alongside the industrious Will Hughes at Selhurst Park; whether he and Mainoo could replicate that balance remains an open question. Palace’s willingness to sell, after offloading Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guéhi, may soften negotiations.

Further down the shortlist sit Rúben Neves, 28, returning from three Saudi-lucrative seasons with Al-Hilal, and Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, 24, who excites scouts but has never tested himself in England. Bournemouth duo Tyler Adams, 26, and Alex Scott, 22, tick age and experience boxes yet lack the star wattage to electrify a fanbase desperate for marquee quality.

Complicating every calculation is the identity of the next permanent manager. Ruben Amorim’s exit followed a power struggle over transfer control; his successor—whether Michael Carrick or an external appointment—will demand midfield characteristics tailored to his tactical blueprint. Carrick’s favoured 4-2-3-1 paired Mainoo with Casemiro; will the next coach want a like-for-like enforcer or a more fluid double pivot?

United have spent the past decade lurching from one rebuild to another, but the task awaiting Wilcox is stark: find a successor who can replicate the Brazilian’s defensive intelligence, aerial dominance and quiet leadership, all while fitting a new tactical ethos and a stringent wage structure. Casemiro departs having proved the doubters wrong; the club he leaves behind must now prove they can replace him.