Casemiro could be great for Man United but it's a deal that points to a club in chaos

The Great Manchester United Transfer Tombola has turned once again and this time they apparently end up with a world-class defensive midfielder.

That's good, isn't it? Signing a world-class defensive midfielder seems like a very good idea, as Manchester United's current options in the center of midfield stand out as faulty components in Manchester United's current squad and stand out as a faulty component in the current Manchester United squad. quite an achievement.

However, this is Manchester United in 2022 so nothing is ever simple. It's hard to put your finger on it, but it looks like a vaguely...unworthy transference.

There's an inherent desperation to it. Even if all goes well, if Casemiro's mother hasn't already failed him, and even if he improves the team - as he surely must - it will still feel like a Pyrrhic victory.

Diving to sign a 30-year-old for £60million in mid-August isn't usually the way sane clubs do business. Signing a 30-year-old for £60m who is markedly different from previous players that you are chasing even more.

Going from Frenkie De Jong to Adrien Rabiot via Casemiro must be a concern. There's no plan here, just a panicked jump from target to target, all of wildly different styles, profiles and ages. The fact that United ended up with a great player at the end only makes it more fun.

We could attempt a serious analysis here. We could talk about Real Madrid's ability to identify the right time to move players. This United has already been burned. That a direct leap from Real Madrid's winning machine to what Manchester United currently is represents a significant culture shock and how it even fits into an Erik ten Hag team.

But really, what's the point? It will probably be very good. He will almost certainly be better than what United have. United will be less shitty anyway than they have been in the first two games - because if they aren't it really will be a season.

Yet it is another very expensive adhesive bandage on deep wounds. It could see United through a year or two, but so what? They are back where they started.

Manchester City signed Fernandinho at 29, Liverpool signed Thiago at 28. There's no reason why signing a player of Casemiro's age is inherently bad. But only if it fits into some sort of identifiable strategy. It is not.

That might turn Glazers fans off a bit. This might make the results a little less appalling. It will give the place a facelift. It might even be the right thing to do. Who knows even more.

Casemiro may still have three or four good years ahead of him and United can reap the benefits. But it all looks like a high-stakes, high-risk bet and even if it pays off, United will have essentially drawn a Homer.

It's a club without direction. The fact that they can attempt to mask this by simply throwing £60m at a 30-year-old central midfielder shows how badly managed they are, how simply being Manchester United provides a floor below which it is impossible for them to sink into the prime minister. Unequal league competition.

There should be a few pats on the back for United if this turns out to be a game-changer for a signing; I...