Manchester United, the Premier League powerhouse, changed its head coach at the beginning of this season, with Portuguese manager Amorim taking over and continuing to use his favored 3421 formation. However, the results have not been ideal, and the team has slipped to 13th place in the league, with a significant number of players not fitting Amorim's tactical requirements.
Due to previous excessive spending in the transfer market, Manchester United does not have much funds left to support Amorim in improving the squad. Therefore, to buy new players, they first need to clean up some high-paid surplus players. Rashford, Antony, Zirkzee, Eriksen, Lindelof, Mount, and others are all potential candidates for sale.
However, the first player to leave Manchester United in the winter window is none other than Casemiro, once known as the "world's best defensive midfielder."
The Saudi Public Investment Fund has finalized Casemiro's move, but which specific team he will play for has not been determined. The transfer fee is set at 25 million pounds, and Casemiro can earn a weekly salary of 650,000 pounds (about 40 million euros per year).
The 32-year-old Casemiro has had an extremely brilliant career. He started at Sao Paulo in Brazil's Serie A and joined Real Madrid at the age of 20. In ten seasons, he played 310 times for the La Liga giants, scoring 31 goals and providing 28 assists.
Casemiro, along with Modric and Kroos, formed a midfield trio considered one of the best, with Casemiro at his peak being both offensive and defensive, earning him the title of "world's best defensive midfielder."
Manchester United signed the 30-year-old Casemiro for 70 million euros and offered him a four-year contract with a weekly salary of 350,000 pounds (about 21 million euros per year). This salary is currently the highest in Manchester United and second only to De Bruyne and Haaland in the entire Premier League.
In the 2022-23 season, Casemiro still had his influence, saving Manchester United multiple times in key matches and was one of the key players in Ten Hag's first season finishing third. However, with increasing age and injuries, Casemiro's form has continued to decline, scoring only three goals in 22 appearances this season.
Casemiro's contract with Manchester United ends in June 2026. If he successfully joins a Saudi team, it will free up 78 weeks of salary totaling 27.3 million pounds, plus the 25 million pound transfer fee, giving Manchester United approximately 52.3 million pounds (about 60 million euros) in funds.
This would allow Amorim to bring in a young star with a transfer fee of 40 million euros and an annual salary of 10 million euros during the winter window. If they can also send off Rashford, Antony, and others, there will be even more room for transfer operations.
Since the Saudi league has a rule of signing players first and then deciding which club they will join, it is still uncertain which team Casemiro will go to. However, Saudi media reports suggest that Casemiro is likely to join Al Nassr, where his former Real Madrid and Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is persuading the club to sign Casemiro, with the two potentially reuniting in Saudi Arabia.
Another star who may leave in the winter window is Rashford. However, due to Rashford's refusal to join the Saudi league, there are not many teams in Europe's top five leagues willing to pay a transfer fee of 50 million euros for him, so Rashford is likely to leave on loan during the winter window.
Currently, the closest teams are Serie A giants AC Milan and Premier League side West Ham United, but both teams require Manchester United to cover most of Rashford's weekly salary of 315,000 pounds (19 million euros per year), which Manchester United cannot accept, so negotiations are still ongoing.
If Manchester United can successfully send off Casemiro, it would be one of the few good pieces of news recently, but the rebuilding path for the Red Devils remains challenging.