Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has launched a scathing attack on Casemiro as he hit out at the Brazilian for his performance in the draw with Bournemouth.
United were twice forced to fight back from a goal down to claim a 2-2 draw against the Cherries last week. The result all but ended their hopes of finishing in the top four, with Aston Villa now 13 points ahead with only six games to play.
The second of Bournemouth's goals came 10 minutes before half-time when Marcos Senesi was allowed to bring the ball forward virtually unopposed before playing it into Justin Kluivert. The unmarked attacker cut into the box before firing a shot past Andre Onana at his near-post.
Kluivert was left on his own after Diogo Dalot moved over to the right wing, while United's midfield failed to fill the gap. And Foster believes the blame for conceding should lay squarely at Casemiro's door.
"The second goal, Casemiro, he’s a holding midfielder. He should be that engine, that rat in the midfield, the disruptor – somebody that breaks up all the attacks, gets in people’s faces," Foster said on his YouTube channel.
"The second goal, for me, is an absolute disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace. He’s allowed to wander into that space and get his shot off. Casemiro almost notices at the last second, meanders in, hangs a leg in there.
"And I’m thinking, do you know what? If I was a manager of a team and my holding midfielder did that, that action there and then, I’d say that’ll do. You, come off."
Casemiro arrived at Old Trafford in the summer transfer window of 2022, with United paying £60million to Real Madrid to secure his services. He enjoyed a solid debut season at the Red Devils.
But age appears to be catching up on the Brazilian and he has struggled badly this year. His poor performances led to United legend Gary Neville branding the decision to sign him as a major error.
“Coming in from an owner’s perspective, you employ a head of recruitment who you think is the best guy out there at spotting talent, that will bring value to your club,” Neville told the Stick to Football podcast in January.
“You’ve got a sporting director equally, who will be thinking the same way – their loyalty is to the club and to make sure we win games. A manager’s job is purely to think about the immediate short term and getting results for himself.
“Casemiro is perfect example of a short-term signing that is going to cost in the long term. That signing never should have gone through a good sporting director, a good owner, and a good head of recruitment. That signing should have never gone through, it should have been a veto.”
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