Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag explains why the club decided to sign Casemiro

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag recently explained the reason behind the club's decision to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid last summer.

The Brazilian midfielder joined the Red Devils for £70 million following their 4-0 defeat against Brentford in the Premier League. Since then, Casemiro has helped the club immensely.

His leadership, experience, and skills have helped Ten Hag's side compete in four competitions this season, winning one already - the Carabao Cup.

Speaking recently about the kind of players Manchester United were looking to sign last summer, Ten Hag said (via ManUnitedZone_):

“When we went into recruitment last summer, we were looking for players with character & personality. A lot of players in the world have great technical skills or can run really fast, but we were looking for players who were resilient & took responsibility.”

Highlighting Casemiro's importance, Ten Hag continued:

“Casemiro is such a leader and so important for us. That’s not only with his performances and skills, linking play, intercepting passes and scoring goals, but his organisation, mentality and the culture he projects. We are so happy we signed him.”

Casemiro, 31, has scored five goals and provided five assists in 34 games across competitions for Manchester United.

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Erik ten Hag on Manchester United's upcoming clash against Liverpool

The Red Devils will travel to Anfield to face arch-rivals Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, March 5. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is expecting a hostile environment for his side but claimed that they are up for the challenge.

In his pre-match press conference, the Dutchman said (via manutd.com):

“I'm looking forward [to it], I know the ambience, the atmosphere will be great. It will be hostile against us, and we like it. It is, of course, a test. But we're facing Liverpool and we're really looking forward [to it], I know these players, my squad, my team will be prepared to go and fight, to go with confidence but we know it's going to be difficult. We know we have to suffer, we have to sacrifice to get a good result."

Liverpool seem to have picked themselves back up in recent games following an abysmal first half of the season. They are unbeaten in their previous six Premier League games and have kept a clean sheet in all of them.

They are currently sixth in the league table but can move to fifth with a win over Manchester United.

The Red Devils, meanwhile, are third, 10 points above Jurgen Klopp's side.