Erik ten Hag confirms Man Utd Casemiro plan as Manuel Ugarte takes his place

Erik ten Hag has reassured Casemiro that he remains a crucial part of his plans at Manchester United, despite the £50million arrival of Manuel Ugarte.

The 23-year-old Ugarte is set to make his debut against Southampton today, stepping in for Casemiro who produced a disastrous performance in United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool two weeks ago.

The Brazilian, 32, was responsible for Liverpool’s first two goals and was substituted at half-time by Ten Hag for rookie academy graduate Toby Collyer.

Despite this setback and the fact that Ugarte has been signed as United’s primary defensive midfielder, Ten Hag insists he will still rely on Casemiro.

“You definitely need him, for sure,” said Ten Hag, revealing that he has discussed with Casemiro about his role. “Of course I speak with him about the situation.

“Everyone can have a bad day at the office – have you never had a bad day at the office? He [Casemiro] is experienced. I guess it’s not the first time he’s had to deal with a bad game, so he has to overcome this as well.

“But it’s normal in life you have highs and lows. In your life and in the life of a football player, there are many people observing this and who have an opinion on this and you have to deal with this.

“He knows how to deal with it. Nobody’s career goes only up, no team’s pattern only goes up. Then you have to deal with it then it is about what is the end result.

“I normally do talk to him and in this case I did as well, but players in our club know when you are playing at this level, there is always competition.

“They also know you can only be successful if you have a squad that has cover. You can’t have a squad where you only have one player who can cover this you need at least two for each position, sometimes three.

“Then it’s about what is the best fit for the team. They have to prove it, that is the key word. They have to take responsibility and win games for the club.”

Ten Hag has been following Ugarte’s career for some time and believes he will be a great addition to the team. “He’s been on my radar a long time,” said the United manager.

“He played for Sporting Lisbon against Ajax [when Ten Hag was at Ajax]. It was not only that match, but also the seasons after, when he played there and for Uruguay and for PSG.

“I had him in my mind and my eye, the scouting department had him in their mind, we followed him and we judged he will be a really good fit for our team.

“He’s coming in as a late transfer, but he’s playing a very important position, connecting the defending with attacking and attacking with defending.

“So communication is very important to guide the team and lead the team, to make the connections between defence and attack.

“We have to help and guide him about how to play that role, but from what we have seen, he knows a lot already and has the profile where we think he can fit in that role.”