Man Utd survive Brentford fightback to earn crucial win
"One more year, one more year Casemiro," bellowed the Stretford End as the Brazilian midfielder made his way down the tunnel to the Manchester United dressing room.
The 34-year-old had just completed the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 win over Brentford that highlighted everything that makes him such an important player.
After scoring for the third successive home game, he celebrated by pointing to the badge on his shirt and then giving it a couple of kisses for good measure. He knows how to play to a crowd.
At the end, twice winning free-kicks inside the home penalty area, maximising contact from Nathan Collins as Brentford desperately hunted an equaliser.
The contributions were priceless and underline what will be missed next season when Casemiro is presumably embarking on another phase of his career – in the United States if the rumours become reality.
"Yes," said manager Michael Carrick when asked if the Brazilian's United career will definitely end next month. "It is pretty clear, from both sides."
Filling the midfield void is by a considerable distance, Manchester United's priority this summer.
Their latest victory leaves them two points short of Champions League qualification after a two-year absence. They have four games left. They would have to lose them all and Brighton or Bournemouth would need to win all their matches. No-one in an official capacity will say so, but the task technical director Jason Wilcox set United's squad in the wake of Ruben Amorim's dismissal in January has been achieved.
Now, the big decisions must be made, around players and management.
Replacing Casemiro is one of the biggest.
"Cas has had an influence in the group," said Carrick. "He has huge experience and given everything you can possibly give. But it's football. Players come and go."
Casemiro is just the second player to score eight or more headed goals in a Premier League season for Manchester United after Dwight Yorke in 1999-00 (also eight)
Central midfield is the priority area to strengthen. Nottingham Forest's Elliott Anderson is the number one target.
But the feeling at Old Trafford is the approach this summer will differ significantly from what went on under previous regimes in two aspects.
Firstly, it has been stressed, the club will not overpay. If the price for Anderson, who is also coveted by Manchester City amongst others, is £120m, United won't pursue. Every player's value has a cap, no matter how well regarded they are.
Secondly, they intend to avoid getting drawn into protracted negotiations before switching after the season has started, which is exactly how Casemiro ended up at Old Trafford in 2022 after Erik ten Hag's lengthy pursuit of Frenkie de Jong ended in failure.
It is fairly obvious but still being reinforced that United's recruitment team have multiple options. If Anderson is a no, the club's hierarchy feel there will be alternatives who can improve what they already have.
The signings of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha last summer are used as a template and evidence quality players can be attracted.
United know their squad needs to expand to cope with the demands of a season that could contain 50% more games than the current 40-match campaign.
It is accepted not every signing will be a success but the strategy is aimed at avoiding paying huge sums and handing out over inflated contracts that are so difficult to extricate the club from and, through the likes of Marcus Rashford and Andre Onana, are a legacy United are still to escape.
There is also a recognition that while some players – Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are the obvious examples – may struggle to play more than they have this season, others such as Noussair Mazraoui, have not played enough.
Ayden Heaven has excelled in central defence and there is a feeling he can play more often next season. Matthijs de Ligt might be out with a back injury but once fit, there is a belief he too can cope with the rigours of a more arduous season.
Two – and potentially three – central midfielders are key and regarded as the priority. A left-sided attacking player would make sense given United were in the market for Antoine Semenyo in January.
Carrick hails 'big three points' after beating Brentford
Before all that though, there needs to be a decision about Carrick.
Many feel delivering a return to the Champions League – it was predicted after his first two games against Manchester City and Chelsea that his side would be in the bottom half of the table – should be enough to secure him a full-time contract.
Getting rid of Carrick, the argument goes, would be the most risky option.
The first is that Carrick gets the job because he deserves the chance, it goes wrong next season and the United hierarchy are derided for following the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer model – even though that downplays the Norwegian's achievement of delivering successive top-four finishes, something no coach has done since Sir Alex Ferguson quit in 2013.
The other is that Carrick is replaced by a more experienced manager, who struggles to adapt and then the hierarchy are accused of trying to fix something that wasn't broken.
This decision is not made easier by the knowledge that Paris St-Germain are confident the standout candidate, Luis Enrique, will sign a new deal with them, and even if he does not, will want wages among the highest in the world to change clubs.
The practicalities of trying to bring in someone like Julian Nagelsman – whose contract with Germany does not expire until 2028 and could be involved in the World Cup final a day after Manchester United's first pre-season game against Wrexham in Helsinki – make it an unviable option.
Andoni Iraola is well liked but, as Thomas Frank, who spoke to United in 2024, discovered at Tottenham, managing a progressive, smaller Premier League club is a whole different world to dealing with the biggest.
No-one knew what results Carrick would deliver when he was asked to take over until the end of the season. However, one thing United's powerbrokers were certain about was that he would not be swamped by the sheer scale of what he was taking on.
Carrick met Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a cup of tea and a casual chat last week. Time will tell how important that brew was.
Barring an unimaginable sequence of results, Old Trafford will host Champions League football again next season.
But one senses for those running the club, their most significant work is about to begin.
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