7 potential Casemiro replacements for Man Utd RANKED after Aurelien Tchouameni links emerge
Casemiro only has a handful of matches left for Manchester United. He’s proven an absolutely pivotal player for them this season, back to his best after a couple of rusty years. But how will they replace him?
“It is not time to say goodbye; there are many more memories to create during the next four months,” Casemiro told the club’s official website when he announced the decision in January.
“We still have a lot to fight for together; my complete focus will, as always, remain on giving my everything to help our club to succeed.”
We’ve ranked seven of the players who have been tipped to replace Casemiro in Manchester United’s midfield engine room.
7. Ruben Neves
The Portugal international’s name was a frequent fixture of the gossip columns back in his Wolves days.
Rather than move to a ‘big six’ club, Neves ended up going to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal. But a move back to Europe appears to be on the cards.
We’ll take him winning the league out there with a pinch of salt, but he did star in Al-Hilal’s shock Club World Cup victory over Manchester City.
He also remains a key cog for Roberto Martinez’s Portugal, and started their Nations League final victory over Spain last summer.
Neves isn’t especially young. He wouldn’t be a world-class game-changer in the mould of a Moises Caicedo. But he’s Premier League proven and dependable enough. United could do a lot worse.
Why’s he bottom of the list, then? In February, Neves signed a contract extension with Al-Hilal that runs until 2029. It simply wouldn’t make any financial sense to pay the kind of fee (and wages) required to pry a 29-year-old away from the Saudi Pro League.
6. Alex Scott
We like Scott. He’s a lovely footballer. He was well worth his England call-up in November and his progress from Bristol City to Bournemouth has been a joy to witness.
On this trajectory, going to a club that can offer European football appears inevitable. He could well prove an excellent addition to Manchester United’s midfield arsenal. Chelsea, somewhat inevitably, have also been linked.
Scott has slotted in as a No.6 for Andoni Iraola’s Cherries this season, and his adaptability is one of his great assets, but he is no Casemiro replacement.
Twenty-two years of age and English, Scott would command a sizeable fee. United would be better served investing it elsewhere.
5. Angelo Stiller
Again. An excellent footballer.
Given Manuel Ugarte’s well-publicised struggles, there’s a very strong argument that Manchester United need to go out and buy two quality centre-mids this summer.
Stiller would certainly tick one of those boxes, a classy deep-lying playmaker that would allow United’s next manager to get the team playing 21st-century football.
But we get the sense he’d be best partnered with a more physical, ball-winning profile of a midfielder. A monstrous presence that can dominate a battle, such is the shape of Premier League football in 2026.
4. Carlos Baleba
“I think they do need a midfielder, I think they are talking about Carlos Baleba, the guy from Brighton,” John Obi Mikel told The Daily Mail.
“Young player, I think he is fantastic, really good player. I think it will help Manchester United in terms of being that player they need, that we have in Caicedo for Chelsea.”
The name on everyone’s lips. United’s interest is well established, with their interest in the Cameroonian rebuffed by Brighton last summer.
He’s undoubtedly a quality prospect, and fits the bill perfectly in terms of his profile, but £100million+ is (obviously) a lot of money.
Has Baleba genuinely shown this season that he’s at that level? Is he really the next Caicedo? The jury’s still out.
3. Adam Wharton
Manchester United would be barking up the wrong tree if they see Wharton as a plug-and-play direct analogue replacement for Casemiro.
But he doesn’t necessarily have to be. Look at Arsenal. They don’t have a traditional midfield destroyer.
In Martin Zubimendi, they possess a classic Spanish midfielder who is able to dictate the tempo. Declan Rice, who has flourished into a dynamic, powerful No.8, works as a natural counterbalance.
Man City, too, have settled on Rodri and Bernardo Silva at the base of midfield. Neither of them – particularly post-injury Rodri – are anything like Casemiro.
English football has so rarely produced players like Zubimendi and Rodri. But Wharton looks like a generationally gifted rare beast who could be worth his weight in gold for England.
2. Aurelien Tchouameni
Los Blancos have struggled badly to replace the composure and metronomic passing of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, but Tchouameni has proven himself an adequate replacement for Casemiro and has been among their standout players this season.
Might he now replace the Brazilian a second time? The 26-year-old, in the prime of his career, is the latest big name to be linked with a move to Manchester United.
The midfielder was suspended for the second leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich, and he was much missed as Eduardo Camavinga lost his head in the absence of his compatriot.
Why Madrid would be willing to sell him is beyond us, beside the fact he’d command a mammoth fee and pocket them a healthy profit. He might just be worth the money, though.
1. Elliot Anderson
An absolute powerhouse. Anderson has played almost every minute of Premier League action for Nottingham Forest this season, the first port of call for three managers with wildly different approaches.
Even amid a dysfunctional team enduring a chaotic campaign, the 23-year-old has shone. The rate at which he wins the ball back, particularly in the middle and defensive thirds, is off the charts.
Anderson looks a shoo-in to start alongside Rice in Thomas Tuchel’s preferred midfield. He’s the industrious, selfless presence that England have lacked since Kalvin Phillips’ drop-off, and exactly what United will need once Casemiro departs.
Last summer, Manchester United looked to the future by investing around £200million in new attackers. The midfield is next in the grand rebuild, and the price will be about the same if they’re to land two potentially world-class long-term options.
But it’ll be worth it in the long run. When was the last time that the Red Devils had a genuinely well-balanced midfield? Put down huge sums on Anderson and Wharton and it’ll soon look like money well spent.
He could even be available for a bargain cut-price fee if Nottingham Forest somehow end up relegated. Looking increasingly less likely now, granted.
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