Manchester United are in talks with Roma over a surprise deal to take Casemiro to the Serie A side and with a Sky Sports reporter revealed the conditions around the deal and having named the star he is likely to replace for the Italian giants.
The Brazilian has endured a hard time of things over the last 18 months, having fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United and having not seen a single minute of football since the turn of the year. Sitting on a contract until summer 2026 worth a staggering £350,000 a week, the Red Devils are understandably eager to get rid of their highest-earning star given his lack of involvement under new boss Ruben Amorim.
With United circulating Casemiro‘s name to several potential suitors as far back as last summer, the club’s quest to offload the 75-times capped Brazil international is nothing new. And while a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia was put on ice over the summer, it seemed likely his exit would go through this month amid reports on Monday that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Besiktas had joined the hunt for his signature.
However, after Sky Italia reporter Gianluca Di Marzio revealed that Roma had now made contact with United over a surprise deal to secure his services, his colleague in the UK, Melissa Reddy, has provided more details on the prospective deal.
“Casemiro is open to a move to Roma and Manchester United are willing to let him leave on loan before the window closes,” Reddy told Sky Sports.
“United prefer to sell Casemiro on a permanent deal but there have not been any offers of that nature so far.
“Roma had asked for information about Casemiro, according to Sky in Italy.
“They have been doing due diligence on the Brazil midfielder in the event that they need to find a replacement for Leandro Paredes, who is a target for Boca Juniors.”
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Sources explain why Roma only want Casemiro on loan
Having cost the Red Devils a whopping £70m from Real Madrid in summer 2022, Casemiro enjoyed an excellent first season in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag, helping the Red Devils finish third in the Premier League.
But as the game got faster and his legs appeared to slow down, Casemiro found his influence in games fading and that was arguably never better illustrated than in his last game for the Red Devils – a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on December 30 – when Eddie Howe’s side deliberately targeted their central midfield pairing of the Brazilian and another veteran, Christian Eriksen, on their way to a comfortable win.
Having not seen any action since, and having been overtaken in the pecking order by 21-year-old Toby Collyer, the dye has now been very much cast over his future at Old Trafford.
As a result, a move to take the player to Roma – a slower pace of football – certainly makes plenty of sense.
And with Parades out of contract in summer and likely to return to Argentina with Boca Juniors, the capital club are keen to bring in Casemiro now to see how he adapts to the rigours of Italian football.
Parades had initially fallen out of favour under previous boss Ivan Juric so had considered the move to Boca this month.
However, with his successor Claudio Ranieri opting to play him more often, it’s likely that Parades’ departure will go through at the season’s end instead.
All the same, and as Di Marzio explains, Roma remain keen to bring in Casemiro as a potential replacement with the Italians hoping to include an option to make the loan permanent if he impresses.
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Meanwhile, United are on the cusp of securing their first official signing of the January window with Fabrizio Romano confirming an agreement has been reached to bring English starlet Ayden Heaven to Old Trafford from rivals Arsenal.
The 18-year-old is a centre-half by trade, but can also operate at left-back if required.
With talks having been ongoing for several days now, United are now on the verge of bringing the teenager in and with Romano giving the move for Heaven his famous ‘Here We Go’ seal of approval.
Elsewhere, sources have explained to TEAMtalk why a move to take the wantaway Marcus Rashford to Fenerbahce still remains possible and despite their president’s craftily-timed denials.
And with the Turkish transfer window remaining open for some time after the majority of the rest of Europe, the Turkish side remain interested spectators in seeing if a move to his main suitors Barcelona will be done and dusted in time.
One transfer deal that is also in the works could see Alejandro Garnacho swapping Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge and with a possible swap deal for Christopher Nkunku gathering pace.
However, Gary Neville has begged the Red Devils to abandon talks over the transfer and having outlined his concerns about a deal for the France international.
Casemiro’s stats for Man Utd this season
Casemiro green lights surprise move to Italy as two top sources reveal conditions around deal
