Former England star Darrent Bent has questioned Casemiro’s role in Erik ten Hag’s plans.
Bent, talking on Talksport, questioned whether the Dutch manager sanctioned the move for the former Real Madrid man.
The 38-year-old referenced the Brazilian’s lack of playing time, especially in the derby where United came out 6-3 losers against their far more superior city rivals.
The former striker provided a possible theory for Casemiro’s benching – he said that Ten Hag just doesn’t trust the player.
Bent said, “When Manchester United signed Antony, if I can remember rightly, he barely trained and he was straight in the team.”
“Ten Hag was like, ‘I know him, I want him, he goes straight in’. I just question whether Casemiro was someone Ten Hag truly wanted.”
“You look at Casemiro’s resume and what he’s done in the game, played at the highest level, won the biggest competitions by the way and in the biggest game of Manchester United’s season so far, he doesn’t go in.”
“I just question first of all whether he was Ten Hag’s signing.”
“I question whether he wanted Casemiro!”
“They signed Antony & he went straight into the team. Does he trust Casemiro?”
Darren Bent questions if Erik ten Hag ever wanted to bring Casemiro to #MUFC. 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/BegWHua61N
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 3, 2022
The ex-Ipswich Town goalscorer however admitted that Scott McTominay‘s form could not go unrewarded.
Over recent weeks up until the derby debacle on Sunday, the Scotland international was superb, with his valued contributions helping United to a four-game winning streak in the Premier League.
The Dutch manager explained his reasons for benching Casemiro before and during the derby.
He explained that when he was signed, the team started winning and as a result, he did not want to ruin a winning dynamic. The time has come for Casemiro to take his place in the team at the expense of McTominay.
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