Manchester United have had a good beginning to the summer transfer window.
The Red Devils have made a statement with the purchase of Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha.
The club are also in advanced negotiations to finalise the transfer of Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo.
Manager Ruben Amorim may want to bolster other key positions too, but a new midfielder may not arrive this summer.
A recent report from Saudi claimed that Al-Nassr are in ‘advanced‘ negotiations to purchase Casemiro.
However, this has been dismissed by the Mirror, who report that Casemiro has decided to stay in the Premier League despite interest from Saudi.
The 33-year-old recently received a surprise recall to the Brazilian national side under new manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Casemiro now feels he can strengthen his World Cup selection prospects by continuing with the Red Devils.
The news is a potential setback for United, who won’t be able to recoup funds or save wages from his transfer.
Casemiro, described as ‘world-class‘ by manager Brendan Rodgers, will enter the last year of his £350,000 per week contract next month. United could now lose him on a free transfer.
On the other hand, an exit to Saudi would have helped United save up to £18.2m in wages.
The club need £15m from Casemiro’s exit to avoid a loss under Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and could have accepted a similar package.
His decision to stay will see the club miss out on recouping £33.2m in wages and transfer fees.
With the budget being limited, the Red Devils could arrest their plans to pursue a new holding midfielder in the ongoing transfer window.
United were unable to offload Casemiro or Eriksen last summer. The latter refused to accept a pay cut to depart and is now leaving on a free transfer.
It looks like the trend will follow with Casemiro. No elite European club will pay his wages, and he appears set to honour the final year of his United deal.
The Brazilian showed plenty of promise in the Europa League earlier this year, but concerns remain about his struggles with the intensity of the Premier League.
With Casemiro’s decision to stay, the onus is on Manuel Ugarte to step up. He had an inconsistent debut season and must improve in the forthcoming campaign.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Capology.com