Man Utd ‘earmark’ Everton flop to replace Casemiro despite ‘brutal dig’ amid ‘constant speculation’

Manchester United have reportedly ‘earmarked’ Everton flop Davy Klaassen amid ‘constant speculation’ as to who might replace Casemiro.

The Brazilian midfield was heavily linked with a move away from the club in the summer and after impressing in the opening two games of the season was hooked at half-time by manager Erik ten Hag in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out for his role in the opening two goals.

Manuel Ugarte joined from Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of the transfer window for an initial £42m and is expected to strike up a partnership with academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo at the heart of United’s midfield, but according to the Daily Star there’s still ‘constant speculation’ over who might replace Casemiro.

Guys, it’s been ‘constant’, and from that baseless claim the report moves on to suggest ‘one player who has been mentioned is Everton flop Davy Klaassen’.

‘Mentioned’ by whom? It’s not clear.

The 31-year-old midfielder – who moved to Everton for £23m from Ajax in 2017 – has been without a club since leaving Inter Milan at the end of his contract in the summer, having moved there following a second spell with Ajax under Ten Hag.

Klaassen got 27 goals and nine assists in 90 appearances for Ten Hag at Ajax, winning the Eredivisie title in 2021 and 2022, and the report claims ‘he fits the bill when it comes to United’s recent unofficial recruitment strategy of being Dutch and having previously worked with Ten Hag’.

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The Dutch boss may well be keen to reunite with Klaassen, though we suspect not, and while we are in no doubt after a disappointing season with Inter has left him with no club he would jump at the chance to join United, he once fired a ‘brutal dig’ at the Red Devils.

After it was announced that Ten Hag would be leaving Ajax for United, Klaassen told Voetbal Primeur : “He has been doing well with us for years and Manchester United has been doing badly for years.”

One player who would warn against Ten Hag signing Klaassen, and not just because he’s very clearly not good enough to play for Manchester United, is Rafael Van der Vaart, who claims the Dutchman keeps increasing the “pressure” on himself by signing former players.

Van der Vaart said : “Yes, it’s tough, I think, he’s been there a few years and really spent a lot of money for his own players, which I don’t really like. When you as a coach, you bring a lot of Dutch people in or players, I am not the biggest fan of that because when you lose a few times then the pressure is even higher, and the football is also not really getting better.

“I saw them against Liverpool. Of course, it’s a tough pill to swallow because it’s like the biggest game – like the North London Derby – and you lose without a chance. Now he needs a lot of wins. Then he will survive but we will have to wait and see.”