Berbatov agrees with Carragher over £70m Man Utd star who ‘needs to do better’
Former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov shares a similar view with Jamie Carragher when it comes to Casemiro and the midfielder’s slow start to the new campaign.
It’s no secret that Erik ten Hag’s side have had a sluggish start to the new season. They edged past Wolves before falling to a disappointing defeat against Tottenham.
Carragher has recently singled out Casemiro for criticism as the Brazilian midfielder hasn’t looked at the races so far.
“This guy [Casemiro] in midfield, as we saw last Monday night and as we saw constantly on Saturday night, is being left exposed in the middle of the pitch on his own and he cannot cope,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
Berbatov has shared his thoughts on the Man Utd midfielder and where he thinks things have gone wrong for the 31-year-old so far.
“I think Casemiro needs to do better from the standards that he has shown over years and years at Real Madrid and last year at United. The standards for him to perform are really high,” Berbatov told Betfair.
“The first couple of games, he is not at the standard that we saw of him, and I’m pretty sure that he knows it.
“The team are not playing as well as everybody expected them to play and if they don’t wake up, the season will be gone and it will be another wasted season.”
Man Utd could do with adding some more depth in midfield and Fiorentina star Sofyan Amrabat remains a top target for Ten Hag’s side.
While Berbatov has picked out Casemiro as a player to improve, he does think that the whole team needs to up their standards.
“The whole team needs to improve, you always point to the star players in the team who are setting the standards and when they don’t play well it’s always noticeable, you see it straight away,” Berbatov added.
“In the case of Casemiro, you know how good a player he is and if he’s not up there in his best form then the team is going to suffer.
“With the runs in between defenders and midfield players in the middle of the park, that’s a dangerous thing to let other teams do and when you’re not in the best shape it’s going to be dangerous for United as the opposition will go straight to the defence.
“When you don’t score goals, the strikers need to wake up as well. The whole team need to improve. There’s a slight glimpse of good play and they created a couple of chances against Spurs, but everything else needs to be better.”
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