Ex-Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has hailed the impact of Casemiro since his arrival at Old Trafford last summer.

The Brazilian international was brought in for a hefty price tag, especially considering he was already 31 years of age, but the midfielder has been more than worth the £70m spent on him. Hargreaves says that, despite Marcus Rashford‘s achievements this campaign, Casemiro is his player of the season:

“Marcus has took the headlines but I think if you look at Casemiro, the team is so different when he’s not playing, just in every phase. It affects David De Gea, it affects the back four, it affects the midfield balance.”

“Marcus will get the headlines and rightly so because he’s been devastating in a way. Casemiro is the glue guy. It’d be a tough call, I want to give it to Marcus but I feel like Casemiro has taken the team to the next level.”

There are actually plenty of contenders to be United’s best player. Rashford is the obvious candidate, but the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen deserve an honourable mention too.

However, as Hargreaves points out, the Red Devils are a much stronger team when Casemiro is in the starting eleven.

The Brazilian was missed massively during his four-game suspension and it is no coincidence that United put in a much better performance against Nottingham Forest last weekend when he returned to the side. He will be hoping to make an impact in the club’s remaining fixtures.