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Manchester United willing to accept £30m loss on Erik ten Hag signing who is ready to leave

Lucas Arnold

Thu 2 January 2025 10:15, UK

TBR Football can exclusively reveal that the Saudi Pro League are once again showing a strong interest in signing Casemiro from Manchester United.

Casemiro arrived at Man United in 2022 whilst Erik ten Hag was in charge, a signing which was an immediate success at Old Trafford.

However, the 32-year-old is now on the periphery of things owing to a long period of poor form.

United have already confirmed to Casemiro that they will not stand in his way in terms of leaving the club, informing the midfielder that he is not in their long-term plans under Ruben Amorim.

Casemiro ready to leave Man United in cut-price deal

TBR Football’s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Casemiro is now open to the prospect of a move to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Pro League showed interest in the Brazilian last summer but an appropriate offer did not arrive at Old Trafford.

READ MORE: Ruben Amorim is ‘putting pressure’ on Manchester United’s board to do one thing immediately

Now, it’s understood that the Pro League are once again in touch with Casemiro’s representatives with a view to putting together a deal for January.

Galatasaray were interested in Casemiro in the closing stages of the summer window, a move that never materialised either.

But the Brazilian may now get his move with Al-Nassr in particular showing a strong interest in the midfielder.

Al-Nassr have just sold Seko Fofana back to France after he completed a move to Rennes, meaning there’s a spot to fill playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane.

And to that end, TBR understands that United are willing to take less than half the £60m they paid Real Madrid for Casemiro back in 2022.

Gary Neville was spot on about Casemiro at Man United

Speaking about United’s deal to sign Casemiro at the time, Gary Neville’s words are now very interesting to read.

Neville was speaking to and perfectly predicted that Casemiro would be a big success to begin with, a player the club would then be looking to offload for a substantial loss.

Speaking in 2022, Neville said: “I don’t get as excited about the signings that Man United make at the moment as I know they’re not part of the strategy at the start of the summer.

“Every other club is really precise, you don’t see them pinging around like a pinball in the transfer market, from one to the other.

“It’s [Frenkie] De Jong, to [Adrien] Rabiot and then it ends up being Casemiro on a phenomenal contract that will cost the club £160m.

“I have to say, I think he’ll do well for a couple years for the club, Casemiro. But someone in two years time is going to pick up a player who will be beyond his best years on £20m who they can’t shift. It may be Erik ten Hag, it may be another manager, it could be new owners.

“There is a large element of desperation with the signing because a five-year deal for a 30-year-old should not happen.”