Roy Keane has had his say on Casemiro's dismal display at centre-back for Manchester United and made quite the claim about the Brazilian.
Because of injury problems, the Brazilian was forced to deputise in central defence alongside Jonny Evans against Crystal Palace on Monday.
But the former Real Madrid man endured a torrid time in a 4-0 thrashing at Selhurst Park.
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The likes of Michael Olise, Ebere Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta ran him ragged and Jamie Carragher called for Erik ten Hag to take him off at half-time.
The Liverpool legend then proceeded to tell Casemiro he ought to leave for the MLS or the Saudi Pro League after his shoddy showing.
The 32-year-old, wearing the captain's armband, has had a monumental decline since signing for United in a £70 million switch.
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And former skipper Keane, who did fill in at centre-back on occasion during his career, did not mince his words with his assessment.
He stated that he would have played a youngster or reserve player over Casemiro at centre-back.
“Crystal Palace were really at it [against Manchester United] and everyone would look at it and think Palace away on a Monday night is going to be a tough night and Casemiro was isolated," Keane said on the latest episode of Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet.
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"He was isolated by his own fault, because he wasn’t getting people around him, and you have to take responsibility for that.
“But if we’re talking about it being a team game, structure-this and structure-that, playing between the lines, that’s all well and good but when you’re up against it, you need your teammates around you. There’s the whole idea of playing in a team.
“Of all the players at Manchester United, including the reserves and youth team, if there was one player I wouldn’t play at centre-half against Crystal Palace, he’d be the one I wouldn’t play. Aaron Wan-Bissaka or someone else!”
Keane was critical of Casemiro's performance but did also defend the former Porto man for being up against it in the first place by playing out of position.
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And he stressed that Casemiro did not get any help from his underperforming teammates.
He continued: “Casemiro is the last player you’d want to play at centre-half against [Crystal] Palace, in his defence. Some players have all the experience, but they don’t show it at certain times. But look at the whole Manchester United squad, if you’re telling me one player I wouldn’t play at centre-half against Palace, who have something going at home, they scored five against West Ham recently, they’ve beaten Newcastle and they even scored two against City – it would not be Casemiro against them.
“I would play anyone else at centre back than Casemiro. When you get to 31 and 32, every time you have a really bad game, it becomes a shocker. I had people tell me that I was finished at that level, but players can get through it if they play in their best position. I looked at Casemiro the other night [against Crystal Palace] and he was having a bad time, but he wasn’t getting any help from the other players."
United take on Arsenal in a huge clash on Sunday, with mixed news on the injury front.
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They have received a welcome boost as Lisandro Martinez has returned to full training, though Mason Mount is injured again and Luke Shaw has suffered another set-back.
The Stick to Football podcast is brought to you by Sky Bet.
Topics: Roy Keane, Casemiro, Manchester United
Josh Lawless