Casemiro wasn’t just on the brink at Manchester United, he looked to have gone over the cliff.
Who can forget that night at Selhurst Park in May 2024, with the Brazilian – albeit deployed in an unorthodox centre-back role – looking all at sea as Crystal Palace ran riot to romp to a 4-0 victory.
Jamie Carragher’s infamous “leave the football before the football leaves you” quotes appeared to hint that the end was nigh for the ageing midfielder, a fact only heightened amid the former Real Madrid man’s dismal start to the following campaign, having been hooked at the break following a disastrous 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool in September.
The arrival of Ruben Amorim, and the shift to a midfield pairing, looked like the final nail in the coffin for his Old Trafford career, with all eyes on the January window and a potential Saudi exit.
Fast forward almost 12 months, however, and the 33-year-old – as he was back in his debut campaign in Manchester – is the glue in this side again, with Saturday’s 2-2 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur outlining the stark drop off that occurs when the five-time Champions League winner is withdrawn.
Manuel Ugarte seemingly can’t cut it, while Kobbie Mainoo is being groomed as Bruno Fernandes’ successor, ensuring a long-term replacement for Casemiro still needs to be found.
Man Utd's record with & without Casemiro this season
It is telling – and rather frustrating – that even in a season of largely just one game a week for the Red Devils, Casemiro still appears unable to complete a full 90 minutes, having been substituted off in seven of his nine Premier League starts this term.
Indeed, the solitary 90 minutes that he has played came recently against Nottingham Forest, in which the £350k-per-week star opened the scoring, with the veteran destroyer far too often withdrawn in the closing stages.
Against Brighton, for instance, United were coasting at 3-0 when the one-time Porto man was replaced on the 70-minute mark, before the Seagulls swiftly staged a stirring comeback in his absence.
A similar scenario occurred last time out, with the away side’s 1-0 lead in north London quickly flipped on its head after Ugarte slotted in alongside Fernandes instead, rubber-stamping Casemiro’s status as arguably one of the most important players in Amorim’s lineup.
That importance is emphasised most notably by the fact of the 20 goals the Old Trafford side have conceded in all competitions this season – including the grim night at Grimsby – 15 of those came when the Brazil skipper wasn’t on the pitch.
Ugarte, a ball-winner and workman-like midfielder by trade, looked to be the perfect successor to his fellow South American upon arrival in Manchester, although now well into his second season, the 24-year-old remains a polarising figure, with Amorim reportedly telling the Uruguayan he no longer recognised the player he had previously coached at Sporting CP.
Hope remains that the aforementioned Mainoo could still thrive alongside Fernandes, rather than act as his deputy, although whether the young Englishman has the defensive nous remains to be seen, with United crumbling when the changes were made in that 4-2 thriller against Brighton.
Non-penalty goals
Top 10%
Total shots
Top 15%
Assists
Top 34%
Pass completion
Top 29%
Progressive passes
Bottom 29%
Progressive carries
Top 35%
Successful take-ons
Bottom 1%
Touches (att pen)
Top 15%
Tackles
Top 1%
Interceptions
Bottom 47%
Aerials won
Top 5%
Clearances
Top 10%
With options limited beyond that in the midfield department, Amorim might have to get creative to find a perfect replacement for Casemiro moving forward.
Man Utd's wildcard Casemiro replacement
Ugarte – unused in the Europa League final – looks destined for an exit before too long. Mainoo, meanwhile, is facing his own uncertainty, having yet to start a Premier League game in 2025/26.
Neither has taken their chance when introduced off the bench, ensuring Amorim could look elsewhere to fill that midfield void, with a potential solution already in-house in the form of ex-Arsenal starlet, Ayden Heaven.
Still just 19, the England youth star has quietly impressed since his arrival from the capital back in January on a £1m deal, with only a cruel injury sustained against Leicester City cutting short his early progress in the first-team ranks.
A powerful, athletic presence, the 6 foot 2 teenager has thus far been deployed in a left-sided centre-back role under Amorim, albeit with his hopes of game time having been hampered this term by the form of Luke Shaw in that starting berth.
With Lisandro Martinez also nearing a return from injury, Heaven could then be nudged into third choice, with a player of his talent and potential arguably far too good to simply be pushed into the periphery.
That is why shifting the Hale End graduate back into midfield could be the answer, with the rangy left-footer having largely featured as a number six or number eight in the Gunners youth ranks in the past.
In the view of respected analyst Ben Mattinson – now a scout for Serie A side Como – the Islington-born sensation “is a midfielder, not a centre-back”, highlighting “his ability to receive the ball under pressure”.
So calm and composed during his early United outings thus far, Heaven has that ability to drive forward from deep with the ball at his feet with ease, with comparisons to a certain Paul Pogba having previously been made by his grassroots football coach Terry Bobie:
The type of player who can dominate a midfield, like Pogba, it would certainly be worth giving Heaven a chance to shine in a more advanced role, having largely passed every test so far in a United shirt.
Indeed, his solitary Europa League start against Real Sociedad saw him win 100% of his duels, while not being dribbled past once, as per Sofascore, producing a performance that simply belied his youth.
With the physical prowess that United appear to be in need of in the absence of Casemiro, the £1m man might just be a bargain solution to Amorim’s longstanding midfield problem.
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1 ByJoe Nuttall Nov 12, 2025