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Erik ten Hag insists Casemiro is fit and ready to make Manchester United DEBUT against Southampton… Red Devils boss must also ponder recalling Cristiano Ronaldo to the starting line-up while Anthony Martial has suffered another injury setback
- New signing Casemiro could make first outing since move from Real Madrid
- Manchester United paid £60million to sign the star from the La Liga giants
- Boss Erik ten Hag also has to decide whether or not to recall Cristiano Ronaldo
- Portuguese forward was dropped to the bench during win over Liverpool
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Casemiro is in line for his Manchester United debut at Southampton while manager Erik ten Hag has to decide whether to recall Cristiano Ronaldo.
French striker Anthony Martial’s injury problems have continued with the striker suffering an Achilles injury and facing an unspecified spell on the sidelines.
And that means that ten Hag, keen to build on Monday’s impressive win over Liverpool, must decide whether to hand a start to Ronaldo, who is still angling to leave Old Trafford before the window closes next week.
Casemiro could make his first appearances for Manchester United against Southampton
Erik ten Hag (pictured) confirmed that Casemiro is fit and ready to play for Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench for Manchester United during the win over Liverpool
Against Liverpool neither Ronaldo nor Martial started – with Marcus Rashford given a central attacking role – which adds to the complexity of ten Hag’s selections.
But Casemiro, who completed his £60 million move from Real Madrid this week, looks set to play a part – and possibly start.
‘Casemiro is fit, yeah,’ said ten Hag. ‘He did all the training sessions, he trained individually and the last days with the team.
Striker Marcus Rashford (pictured) rewarded Erik ten Hag’s faith by scoring against Liverpool
Ten Hag confirmed that Anthony Martial (pictured) injured his Achilles against Liverpool
‘Anthony came out with a problem on his Achilles, out of the game (Liverpool). We have to wait, I cannot tell the prognosis, I hope he will be available for the next game.’
Ten Hag is also challenging his players to build on the Liverpool win and the confidence that the eye-catching result brought to a team that struggled at the start of the campaign.
‘The spirit was already good, now it is better,’ he said. ‘It’s clear it’s only one game, we have to build further on and everyone is aware of that.
‘I think it helps, of course, because I said before the Liverpool game that Liverpool, especially last year, is the best football team in the world and when you beat them it must give a lot of confidence, clearly.’