Man Utd can grant Casemiro his exit wish in January with 'next Kante' waiting in the wings

Manchester United have been told that they already have the ideal Casemiro replacement on their books.

The Red Devils splashed the cash over the summer, striking a late deal to acquire the services of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain. Further reinforcements in midfield are expected to arrive over the next 12 months too, with Christian Eriksen and Casemiro both not getting any younger.

Casemiro’s sharp decline has seen him firmly put in the shop window at Old Trafford, though no bids were made for the Brazil international over the summer.

According to Manchester Evening News, those in the United dressing room believe that Casemiro has been struggling as a result of the club’s overall displays. Some members of the squad feel he ‘didn’t sign up for’ battling for European football, in a telltale sign that his time at the Theatre of Dreams is up.

There may be some hesitancy about allowing Casemiro to depart given his anchoring role in midfield, though Erik ten Hag has been told that he already has a capable replacement on his books in the shape of Toby Collyer.

The teen was substituted on in place of Casemiro against Liverpool before the international break, and the youngster will be hoping that he can continue to progress into the player that his former coach Mark Beard believes that he can be.

The ex-Brighton coach worked with Collyer as he was breaking through the Seagulls’ ranks, and he has talked up the potential of the midfielder. He told Manchester Evening News: “You wanted 11 Toby Collyers in your team because he’d work his socks off, run 13km a game and he took everything on board like a sponge.

“There were obviously a few things as he got older that we needed to work on and as he shot up a bit and he needed to redevelop. Toby sort of changed the way he played, so different types of passing, defending and he became a real good all-round midfielder once he’d learnt those two of three key areas.