Analysing Casemiro: How the Brazilian transforms United

"Most people don't realise that games last 97 minutes, and a player is on the ball for an average of two and a half minutes. Often we focus on those minutes and say — how well he played. The other 95 he is running, covering gaps, sprinting off the ball. But people forget about the rest — if a foul is needed to stop a counter-attack, cover a space, or oblige a team to play backwards. Sometimes this off-the-ball work is the most important." 

This statement from Casemiro is a proper portrayal of the player he is on the football field; a six feet tall warrior with long mobile gangly legs whose abstract efficacy on the pitch cannot be quantified via goals or assists, neither can they be seen but only observed and felt and this is the greatest attribute of a holding midfielder: to dictate the control of a game without being seen hovering around the pitch meaninglessly.

United have longed for a proper "No 6" ever since Michael Carrick retired. When it comes to someone who can protect the defence and also get moves started, there are few better in world football at reacting to danger and getting in the right position to thwart it than the Brazilian DM.

The struggles of United in the midfield or specifically in their own final third of defense cannot be summed up in a single article because there are lots to talk about. However, to narrow it down, United have zero control when it comes to protecting the back four, stopping an opposition attack, quick ball recoveries, interceptions, ball progression from deep to start attacks and most importantly, a leader with a winning mentality to take control of the midfield by the scruff of its neck. For someone who, upon completion of a game, rushes to check in on how many recoveries, interceptions and tackles he's made; because that is his way of helping the team contrary to scoring goals, Casemiro checks all the boxes in these regards.

Casemiro's stats per 90 are ranked in the top five percent of central midfielders in Europe. 

Anchorman 
As the word implies, an anchorman is someone who doesn't venture too far away from his original no 6 position and is entrusted with protecting the final line in his own defensive third. Anything that comes into 'zone 14' belongs to Casemiro. Zone 14 isn't confined to 'just' the central area outside the 18-yard box, it's the area in which the defensive teams defensive midfielder and the opposition. 

The dominance of this area is key for teams to control games. When the opposition punt the ball long from goal kicks, Casemiro will be invaluable in 1st and 2nd ball duels thanks to his defensive aerial and ground duel-winning abilities. Fred at 5'8 didn't enable that. He wins 3.42 duels per game on average and has an aerial duels success rate of 69%. As a last resort, he averages 1.83 tackles per game which can include the occasional 'tactical fouls'- something that other United players hardly ever commit to. 

Progression from deep
Having established Casemiro's abilities to win the ball back, United fans will be happy to know Casemiro is a great deep-lying ball progressor; another feature that 'McFred' lack. 

Casemiro had a long ball accuracy of 81% last season, which was higher than the maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. On average, he completes 10 long passes per 90. Ball progression is something that United clearly suffer from and with the advent of Casemiro, that could change as he is likely to be paired up with Christian Eriksen.

Big Match Player
United strive for greatness and for trophies. To win the big prizes, you need players with that winning mentality. You need players who have experienced playing the biggest of stages. In the current setup, other than Varane and CR7, there is no one who has tasted top success. With Casemiro, comes a five-time UCL winner, a modern-day Real Madrid legend who just doesn't bring in the experience but the evidence of actually having performed in crunch moments.

Take last season's Champions League final for example. He was arguably the best player on the pitch with 9 interceptions and tackles. The next best player had 6. He attempted 37 passes with 1 key pass and delivered four successful long balls out of the six he attempted. To win big, you need these players.

Moreover, Casemiro is built like a tank and has never had a history of long-term injuries. He started in 31 games last season and United could use a player who features regularly with quality consistency.