What Casemiro has said about ‘exceptional’ Man Utd target he wants club to sign

Casemiro will leave Manchester United this summer having potentially played an influential role in naming his own successor.

The Brazil international has personally recommended his compatriot Bruno Guimaraes to fill the void in midfield when he departs at the end of the season with United reportedly now in advanced talks to sign the Newcastle United star.

There will be a major rebuild in midfield at Old Trafford this summer with Manuel Ugarte another tipped to move on after two very disappointing seasons in Manchester.

While Kobbie Mainoo’s prospects are bright again, there is a desperate lack of options within the squad.

United arguably need to make two first-team additions in midfield ahead of next season, particularly with the club hoping for a busier scheduler back in the Champions League.

Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Joao Gomes are all thought to be on United’s shortlist with Sandro Tonali another option emerging this week. But it is his Newcastle teammate who could be the priority.

Casemiro and Guimaraes have been regular partners in midfield for the Brazil national team since the former was recalled by Carlo Ancelotti last year.

Both players arrived in the Premier League in 2022 and the former Real Madrid star spoke highly of his countryman the following year.

‘Bruno is a player who has been doing an exceptional job at Newcastle,’ Casemiro said. 

‘With each game and each training session I am more comfortable playing with him. He is a great player, he has shown this in the most difficult competition in the world, which is the Premier League.’

Bruno Guimaraes injury history - should United be worried?

Guimaraes’ last game for Newcastle was against Tottenham in February, sidelined with a hamstring injury in what was a huge blow to Newcastle’s hopes of European qualification this season.

In his absence, Newcastle have crashed out of the FA Cup and Champions League. The Magpies have certainly felt his absence over the years, winning just two of the 16 Premier League games he has missed since his arrival from Lyon in January 2022.

The midfielder has missed 12 games in total this season – 10 and counting as a result of the hamstring problem that is expected to keep him out until mid-April having missed games against Aston Villa and Liverpool in late January with an ankle problem – with Newcastle losing on both occasions in his absence.

Injuries aside, Guimaraes has been relatively ever-present in Newcastle’s starting XI, playing the full 90 in 21 of the 22 Premier League games he has started.

While it has been an issue this season, his injury history makes for encouraging reading. During both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, Guimaraes did not miss a single game through injury, serving a couple of yellow cards suspensions along the way.

In his first full season in England, the 2022-23 campaign, the Brazilian missed six games in total, three with a hamstring problem early in the campaign and three mor with an ankle issue in February. Newcastle failed to win any of those games in his absence.

The feeling is mutual. ‘In one of my first interviews with the national team, in 2020, when I arrived, they asked if I was inspired by anyone in midfield, and I said his name: Casemiro,’ Guimaraes said last year.

‘He’s also an idol there for everything he’s done, especially at Real Madrid.

‘A guy that everyone who plays in the Brazilian midfield talks about, Casemiro is the guy we have to follow. So I think it’s a bit of everything. He’s a leader.’