Casemiro dropped and Mason Mount starts – Manchester United have a new-look midfield option

Man Utd may alter their midfield lineup in an attempt to exert more match control this year.

Mason Mount could star when he is back from injury (Image: Getty)

Last season, Manchester United’s midfield proved to be a strong suit. If they don’t make a change soon, it could turn into a weakness.

A year ago, Casemiro was the team’s mainstay and a serious candidate for Player of the Season because of his special blend of inventiveness and defensive dynamism.

However, in recent weeks, he has transformed from a dependable player to a liability; his lackluster showing against Luton Town is just the most recent worrying example of an unimpressive personal campaign.

The 31-year-old was lucky to be taken off the field before being substituted at the half on Sunday afternoon, which is another indication of his slow decline. It was unimaginable to take him off a game last season midway through.

It was also telling that when Kobbie Mainoo took over the deeper midfield position for United in the second half, putting on another strong performance as the team’s leader, United seemed to be in greater control of the game.

Mainoo won five ground duels and completed all five of his attempted dribbles en route to an 88% passing accuracy, 53 touches, and nine ball recoveries. It was a fully realized midfield display.

A growing number of people believe that the 18-year-old should take Casemiro’s place at the base of the midfield—if not permanently, then at least immediately.

In doing so, United would be able to drastically alter their midfield, and Mainoo could actually play in an axis with Bruno Fernandes instead of Casemiro.

Fernandes was another player whose own style of play frequently ran counter to Ten Hag’s whole philosophy, and who cut a frustrated figure at Kenilworth Road with poor decision-making in the closing third.

Since the Dutchman took over the team, the Portuguese playmaker has continued to be among the best, but some of his best efforts have actually occurred when he has been used in a more conventional central midfield role.

His own future may be in a deeper role, where he can use his excellent passing range to control play and where he won’t be as pressured to put goals above everything else, which seems to affect his occasionally egotistical tendencies.

Mainoo and Fernandes together would give United the ingenuity and composure they so desperately need in midfield, and they might be the key to solving their persistent problem of not being able to control games well.