Mizgan Masani
Tim Howard urges Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag cannot afford to leave Casemiro alone in a deeper midfield
Former Manchester United and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard believes Erik ten Hag needs to find a solution where Casemiro is not left alone in the midfield.
In the first two of the season, United have looked open in midfield and easy to play against. The midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Casemiro, although good on paper, hasn’t worked so far.
In defensive transition, the latter is getting left alone more often than not. As a result, both Wolves and Tottenham had so much joy when possession changed hands.
Here’s what Howard said regarding this issue and what ten Hag can do to rectify it (h/t NBC, via Manchester Evening News):
“No, it’s not the personnel. I agree, I like all three of them [United’s current midfield three]. I like them coming into the season.
“When we look last season it was Casemiro plus Fred or plus McTominay. He’s trying to get away with that to have him play on his own, I don’t know if that’s quite working out. We talk about balance, there may be a re-structure but then who goes there? I don’t think Bruno’s better deep-lying, Mason Mount certainly isn’t but then Casemiro might need a partner.”
With Scott McTominay still at the club, there might be a case for him to start alongside Casemiro, allowing the likes of Fernandes and Mount to play higher up with Marcus Rashford and Antony.
If the Scotsman is not the solution, then United need to dip into the market and buy a player worthy of partnering with Casemiro. Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, who has been linked with the club for some time now, has the profile for this particular role.
What it is, this problem needs solving either before the end of this transfer window or on the training field. Playing Mount and Fernandes as number eights isn’t going to work, especially away from home.
After an encouraging pre-season, United and ten Hag are back to the drawing board following the defeat to Tottenham in addition to a hapless display against Wolves.
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Let’s hope things get better from here and the team starts to pick up on the performance levels. The next game is a winnable one at home to Nottingham Forest.
