Manchester United made it three successive wins in the Premier League at the weekend when they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo was, arguably, the star of the show with his two impressive goals for the Red Devils, taking his tally for the season to five goals since his move from Brentford.
Bryan Mbeumo for Manchester United
The Cameroon international was not the only United star who caught the eye with an excellent display for Ruben Amorim in the win over the Seagulls, though.
Experienced central midfielder Casemiro impressed with his performance in the middle of the park, although his goal was rather fortunate with the deflection off Ayari.
The Brazil international provided a goal and an assist, whilst winning four of his six ground duels (Sofascore), in the 4-2 win for United, which shows that he was effective in and out of possession.
Despite producing an eye-catching display for the Premier League giants alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield, Manchester United may be starting to think about what life will look like after Casemiro.
Why Man Utd need a replacement for Casemiro
The Brazilian midfielder will be 34 when his contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season, and it remains to be seen whether or not the club will exercise their option to extend it by a further year.
This means that they may be looking at who will take his place in midfield alongside Bruno in the mid-to-long-term. Kobbie Mainoo, though, may not be that player, for reasons outlined by Amorim.
Mainoo Amorim quotes
As shown in the comments above, the Portuguese head coach views the England international as an alternative to Bruno, rather than as a defensive option to take Casemiro's spot.
That leaves Manuel Ugarte as the only natural replacement within the current first-team squad. That is a concern because his performances for the club last season left far too much to be desired.
24/25 PL Manuel Ugarte Rank vs midfielders
Non-penalty goals 0.05 Bottom 41%
xAG 0.06 Bottom 30%
Shot-creating actions 1.56 Bottom 16%
Progressive passes 3.08 Bottom 18%
Progressive carries 0.81 Bottom 23%
Passes into the final third 2.96 Bottom 36%
Passes into the penalty area 0.45 Bottom 20%
Stats via FBref
Ugarte, as shown in the statistics above, was among the worst midfielders in the division in a host of key possession-based metrics, which shows that he does not offer enough on the ball.
Casemiro has had a turbulent time at Old Trafford, as shown in the graphic below, but his recent performance against Brighton shows that he can still offer quality in and out of possession.
casemiro-man-utd-career-path
With Amorim's view of Mainoo and Ugarte's lack of quality, Manchester United may have to look elsewhere to find a replacement for the former Real Madrid star.
Man Utd preparing offer for Premier League midfielder
The Red Devils appear to have identified that as an issue in the squad, as they are reportedly looking to sign a new midfielder in the next window.
According to TuttoJuve, Manchester United are one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign Chelsea's versatile midfielder Andrey Santos in the January transfer window.
The report claims that the Premier League giants and Juventus are both keen on a move for the Brazil international, as they look to bolster their midfields ahead of the second half of the campaign.
andrey-santos-chelsea-champions-league
TuttoJuve adds that both clubs are preparing to make offers to sign the 21-year-old starlet, which suggests that they are both serious about a deal for his services.
Al-Qadsiah had an offer of around £60m (£59.5m) turned down for the midfielder last month. This suggests that United and Juventus will need to be in or above that ballpark if they want to snap him up in January.
Why Man Utd should sign Andrey Santos
The Red Devils should be pushing to beat Juventus to Santos' signature in the January transfer window, even if it costs north of £60m, because he could be the perfect long-term replacement for Casemiro.
Manchester United's Casemiro looks dejected after the match
He has only started two of his seven appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, two midfielders who cost over £100m each, ahead of him. This means that he has not had too much of an opportunity to shine for the Blues.
His performances whilst on loan at Strasbourg in Ligue 1 last season, though, suggest that he has the quality in and out of possession to be a dream signing for United to replace Casemiro in the defensive midfield role in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system.
Santos, including the stunning strike in the clip above, scored 11 goals and provided four assists in all competitions for Strasbourg in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which shows that he can make a big impact in possession from a central midfield position.
Analyst Ben Mattinson described the Brazilian star as a "duel monster" who "has everything you want in a CM", and his statistics in Ligue 1 last season back up that claim, as he was influential all over the pitch.
24/25 Ligue 1 Andrey Santos Percentile rank vs CMs
Goals 10 Top 1%
Assists 3 Top 20%
Passes completed 1,400 Top 7%
Successful dribbles 18 Top 18%
Fouls won 63 Top 1%
Tackles won 110 Top 1%
Duels won 228 Top 2%
Duel success rate 66.7% Top 5%
Blocked shots 14 Top 14%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Santos excelled in virtually every aspect of the game, as a scorer, a passer, an assister, a dribbler, a duel winner, a tackler, a blocker. He did it all for Strasbourg.
These statistics suggest that the 21-year-old star has all the qualities that Amorim would want from his defensive and combative midfield player next to Bruno, because he has the defensive and duel-winning skills to screen the defence, whilst still being good enough to make an impact in possession.
Therefore, he could take the best qualities of Ugarte and Mainoo and combine them to be a complete star for United in the middle of the park as Casmeiro's long-term replacement, as he is 12 years younger than his international teammate.