Manchester United supporters would have excused the nervousness of the opening day win against Fulham in the Premier League, with new recruit Joshua Zirkzee scoring late on to secure a slim 1-0 win versus Marco Silva's Cottagers, to spare the blushes of Erik ten Hag watching on.
Now, however, the same forlorn mood that engulfed Old Trafford for large spells of last season has returned, as Arne Slot's Liverpool trounced the out-of-sorts Red Devils 3-0 last time out, on what has become a very happy hunting ground for the Reds in recent years.
Losing in the last minute to Brighton and Hove Albion the match before did make this showdown with their arch-rivals feel even more important, but the Premier League titans just couldn't handle the immense pressure on their shoulders and rolled over in the end for Mohamed Salah and Co to comfortably pick up three points
Ten Hag will be bitterly disappointed with the efforts of his senior individuals that continue to underperform, with Casemiro notably trudging off the pitch at the Theatre of Dreams in a downbeat manner, after a horror-show display against Liverpool saw him be hooked at half-time.
Casemiro's decline at Man United
Once costing the Red Devils an eye-watering £70m, picking up Casemiro back in 2022 was meant to be an almighty statement purchase, especially when you consider his golden trophy haul playing for Real Madrid before making the switch to England.
Winning an astounding five Champions League winners medals when starring at the Santiago Bernabeu, the now 32-year-old holding midfielder must look back on that patch of his career with even more nostalgic fondness, as he continues to decline at Old Trafford.
The waning South American midfielder was at fault for both of Liverpool's first-half strikes in the one-sided affair on Sunday, gifting strikes for Luis Diaz to then confidently convert with the Colombian attacker loving life in Manchester, as the game swung heavily in the away side's favour.
It wasn't a real shock to see his Dutch manager bring him off at the half-time interval, therefore, as a passing of the old guard to the next generation at the Red Devils occurred, with 19-year-old Toby Collyer thrown into the action in his place.
Giving up possession 14 times across his disastrous 45-minute showing too, alongside other worrying numbers from the crushing defeat, this could signal that the end of Casemiro's career at Man United is on the horizon.
He equally had a shocker of the same magnitude last season when Ten Hag's men were badly humbled away at Crystal Palace by four goals, as the 32-year-old was dribbled past an outrageous seven times, leading to the Eagles toying with the once esteemed Real Madrid figure.
This damage to his ego in Manchester has resulted in his transfer value taking a major hit, with the lacklustre United number 18's value in the here and now nowhere near the extortionate £70m he once was worth at the height of his playing days.
Casemiro's transfer value in 2024
As per Transfermarkt, the Brazilian midfielder is now worth just £17m, a far cry off that bumper amount Ten Hag's side forked out to win his services only two years ago.
With his highest-ever estimated transfer value recorded by Football Transfers coming in at £70.5m as well, it's fair to say his career has taken a swift decline playing for the up-and-down Red Devils, who continue to spend lavish amounts.
Club
Spending outlay
1. Chelsea
£219.6m
2. Man United
£205.9m
3. Brighton
£192m
4. Tottenham
£133.5m
5. West Ham
£132.5m
Man United rank as the second-highest spenders during the recently closed transfer window in the Premier League, just behind Todd Boehly-backed Chelsea, with a spending outlay of £205.9m according to Sky Sports.
Their wild spending habits have seen the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Manuel Ugarte all join the building, as fans of the underperforming giants pray that not a single big purchase this summer goes on to be an expensive flop like Casemiro is turning into.
Away from all the very expensive new buys entering through the door, Ten Hag will have been pleased with the efforts of Amad Diallo so far this campaign, who had been stuck on the fringes at Old Trafford for a while.
market
Market Movers
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Diallo's promising performances this season
The former Atalanta winger once cost the Red Devils £37m, which looking back could be seen as a rash purchase in itself, particularly when you evaluate that his own price tag has dropped down to below Casemiro's at £15m, according to Transfermarkt.
Yet, Diallo is now finally making a positive impact and will feel content with where he now finds himself in his topsy-turvy career in Manchester, having shone in spells during the early stages of this bumpy campaign. After all, it's not as though he's been the catastrophic flop that positional peer £80m Antony has turned to.
The 22-year-old attacker would only make nine Premier League appearances in total last season, with the increasing likelihood that he would be offloaded sooner rather than later.
Now, however, he has become an exciting player to watch during gloomy times at the top-flight club, with his bright display against Brighton before the sobering loss to Liverpool deserving of the goal he was rewarded with.
The once ostracised United number 16 also tried to give his downtrodden side a boost when coming off the bench against Liverpool last time out, with one big chance created from his promising 21-minute cameo. No United player had more touches in the opposition's penalty area than the Ivorian either.
It was somewhat of a surprise to see the United boss switch up his starting XI and drop Diallo for the crunch clash with Slot's men, as Diallo strives to get back into the first-team mix for United's next Premier League tie after the international breakaway at Southampton.
The former Sunderland loanee – who was once labelled as a "superstar" by football creator Liam Canning – will also aim to keep being a creative spark so his transfer value can eventually rise above the current £15m price tag that he has next to his name.
His value could potentially even soar above that of Casemiro's down the line, who is in dire need of breathing life back into his poor playing days.
With the ex-Real Madrid man's contract expiring in 2026, it will be intriguing to see if the South American underperformer is put up for sale in the near future, with the stuttering top-flight giants fully aware that his stock is at a radical all-time low.
With Ten Hag's neck also on the line again in the Man United dug-out as a result of his team's continued failures, this could now be the end of Casemiro in a Red Devils strip, whilst Diallo heads in the opposite direction, finally starting to show why he was brought to Carrington a few years ago.
Man Utd have an amazing teen who could be more exciting than Toby Collyer
Manchester United have a whole host of youngsters ready to make it in the first team.
ByKelan SarsonSep 2, 2024
