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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves believes Casemiro has become undroppable for the Red Devils.
The Brazilian, who joined from Real Madrid on a deal worth around £70 million this summer, has slowly been integrated into United's team by manager Erik ten Hag. He came up with arguably his best display of the season during his side's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday (October 19).
Casemiro's superb display coincided with Manchester United's best performance of the campaign as well. They looked solid defensively, which allowed them to excel in attack and pick up three vital points in the Premier League.
Hargreaves now believes the five-time UEFA Champions League winner is indispensable to the Red Devils. He told Premier League Productions (as quoted by Sport Bible):
"Casemiro is the one that's going to come and stay. He's going to play all the time. [Lisandro] Martinez, with [Raphael] Varane and Casemiro in front of [David] De Gea, that four seems like a really solid block."
The former Bayern Munich midfielder added about the knock-on effect of Casemiro and the defense doing well has on the rest of the team:
"I think if they can keep clean sheets, with the attacking players they have, I know [Cristiano] Ronaldo didn't start, didn't come on and didn't come off the bench, and wasn't happy about it. The point is the team look really settled [against Spurs], defending, in possession and attacking, so that bodes well."
Hargreaves concluded:
"Casemiro is going to play. That's a fact. He looks so natural in there, and when you've won the Champions League five times, you probably have a right to start every game."
Casemiro was Manchester United's disruptor-in-chief against Tottenham, recording seven successful duels, four tackles, two interceptions and a clearance. He also completed 84% of his passes and even contributed two key passes.
Casemiro will be key for Manchester United against Chelsea
On the back of an impressive display at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. The high-voltage Premier League encounter will take place on Saturday, October 22.
Erik ten Hag is unlikely to make too many changes to his side's winning combination against yet another English heavyweight. This means Casemiro is likely to start against the Blues and will undoubtedly be key for the Red Devils once again as they seek an away win.
Chelsea are unbeaten since Graham Potter's arrival and will enter this match on the back of a 0-0 draw away to Brentford in the Premier League.
