According to Mirror, Manchester United have identified Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joao Gomez as a replacement for Casemiro.
Casemiro has had a disappointing 2nd season with Man United. He has spent most of the campaign on the sidelines with injuries and he is currently out of action with a hamstring problem. Mirror now report that the club are weighing up a move for Gomez with Casemiro set to make way for a younger midfielder this summer.
The Red Devils have watched Gomes on several occasions this season and most recently during the 2-1 win over Fulham at Molineux. Wolves purchased him from Flamengo for £12 million last year and Mirror reveal that United could be prepared to pay £40 million for the midfielder, who could make his Brazil debut this month.
Promising star
Gomes was on the radar of top Premier League clubs such as Liverpool before he made the switch to Wolves. The 23-year-old took time to adapt after joining the club in January last year, and he has been brilliant in his first full season. The Brazilian has won an impressive 3,5 tackles and 5.8 duels per league appearance.
He has also made 5.5 recoveries on average and has completed 83% of his passes. Gomes is not a strong ball-playing midfielder, but his passing statistics should improve with better players around him at United. We believe he could be a like-for-like replacement for Casemiro with similar strengths in the defensive point of view.
£40 million represents fair value for a player, who has proved himself after arriving from the Brazilian top-flight. United fans may ideally want a more high profile option such as Benfica’s Joao Neves, but the Portuguese star would be costly with a release clause of £103 million. New United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already emphasised that the club won’t be spending a fortune to buy success and has hinted over the club’s plans to sign upcoming talents.
