Of course, your morale drops and it’s boosted when you score six in victory [but] we beat them at home and as I’ve said, each game is completely different but losing in that way is tough for you. But, when you do lose like that, the most important game is the next one which you need to win and get three points from.” Casemiro with the Champions League trophy last May – the fifth he won with Real Madrid. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

The victory he cites over the City juggernaut of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and company is January’s 2-1 Premier League return at Old Trafford. The 31-year-old was in the XI then but at the Etihad had been only a 59th-minute substitute , when United were 4-1 behind, Erik ten Hag preferring Scott McTominay in central midfield. Schmeichel was only saying what many people thought, what many United fans feared. They have seen their club overpay too often for players who have not worked out. The deal had red flags everywhere. Casemiro has taken each one, surgically dissected it and thrown the pieces into the wind.United are a different team without Casemiro. When he has been in the team, they have conceded 0.91 goals per game in the Premier League; when he has been absent that figure has shot up to 1.5. With an actual plan in place, United have enjoyed a progressive campaign under Ten Hag. The question now is how they build for next season. United would have pushed the button sooner on Casemiro had Ten Hag not hung on as long as he did for De Jong. So long, in fact, that it was only in a big recruitment meeting in the days before the Brentford game that the decision was taken to finally abandon the pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder, park interest in the likes of Adrien Rabiot and land Casemiro. I spoke to my wife and she said I look like an 18-year-old kid who is super excited about his new project and I do feel so excited about playing in the Premier League,” Casemiro said during an emotional farewell ceremony. Roméo Lavia, who should be available now Southampton have been relegated, is another option, though United would face competition for the Belgian from a number of Premier League suitors. The 19-year-old is one for the present and the future. There are other players in the mix who could add some bite to midfield, notably Palhinha, Edson Álvarez of Ajax, and Marcel Sabitzer, who has spent the second half of the season on loan at United. United fans had to wait seven weeks for Casemiro to make his first Premier League start as manager Erik ten Hag eased him in gently – and were left screaming out for him as they watched their side get demolished 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium in early October. Suffice to say, Casemiro will be the first name on Ten Hag’s team-sheet when Manchester City visit Old Trafford in the return game on Saturday lunchtime.

The Brazilian’s impact – on and off the field – has been nothing short of sensational. There are some fans who have likened it to that of Eric Cantona in 1992 and, if that is big talk, well, this is a club where that sort of thing is a part of it. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Does he ever lose it? He has his moments, although he can’t speak to some players because he can’t really speak in English. As a leader, he knows when he has to be a little bit tough and when he has to be more composed.” Casemiro, it turned out, was watching from home in Madrid and began sending messages to his agent saying: “Tell them I’ll fix this”. The Red Devils will welcome Manuel Pellegrini's men to Old Trafford this Thursday for a last-16 clash, having beaten Barcelona in the play-off round. Casemiro, 30, was instrumental in both legs but could find himself missing an upcoming fixture as United resume their European campaign following Sunday's appalling 7-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool.Casemiro is such an important player, he’s been in big places and how you see him on the pitch is the way he is off it – just a really calm guy,” Fernandes says. “He doesn’t speak English really well yet but in the way of football, the way he can communicate with his teammates, he speaks really well. These are the basic principles. Beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass, get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past it would be the No 10 that would be required to do that. I saw an interview with [Juan Román] Riquelme [the Argentinian playmaker] once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets.