Casemiro is the best holding midfielder in the world
Robin Bairner
- 22 Aug 2022 20:21 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are celebrating after landing themselves the best holding midfield player in the world in the form of Real Madrid’s Casemiro.
The 30-year-old had become a major target for the Red Devils are they failed to land Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and has now arrived at Old Trafford after officially completing his move from Real Madrid.
Of course, the Brazilian is a different style of player to the Barca star – who Man Utd have targeted so heavily - but he may be just what the Red Devils need to kickstart their season.
Casemiro's value has skyrocketed at Real Madrid 📈
No wonder Man Utd are willing to pay €60m + €10m in add-ons 💰 pic.twitter.com/kmlxGMNSC9— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 19, 2022
Certainly, there are no questions of Casemiro’s quality, as underlined by the fact that he is rated by FootballTransfers as the best holding midfielder in the world.
This puts him above the likes of Declan Rice, who has had a massive price tag slapped on him by West Ham, and Kalvin Phillips, who made a huge move from Leeds to Manchester City earlier this summer.
The best holding midfielders in the world
| Name | Club | Skill Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Casemiro | Real Madrid | 83.6 |
| Rodrigo Bentancur | Tottenham | 81.5 |
| Declan Rice | West Ham | 78.4 |
| Guido Rodriguez | Real Betis | 77.6 |
| Wilfred Ndidi | Leicester | 77.6 |
| Edson Alvarez | Ajax | 77.0 |
| John McGinn | ASton Villa | 76.1 |
| Tyler Adams | Lees | 75.8 |
| Emre Can | Dortmund | 75.3 |
| Leandro Paredes | PSG | 74.7 |
The rating is not simply random. It is calculated by data analytics experts SciSports and encompasses hundreds of in-game data points.
Holding midfielder is one of a subset of four roles that defensive midfielders play in the eyes of SciScports. The others are box-to-box midfielder, ball-winning midfielder and deep-lying playmaker.
In his role as holding midfielder, Casemiro typically does not find himself in advanced positions nor does he play many passes into the final third of the pitch.
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As well as being rated as the best holding midfielder, he is also considered the fourth-best defensive midfielder behind Manchester City’s Rodri and Liverpool pair Fabinho and Thiago.
Casemiro, then, may represent a big investment at around €80m, but Manchester United know that by paying such a fee to Real Madrid, they are getting an elite player in return. Little wonder, then, that the Spanish side put up a fight for his services before finally letting him leave for a large fee.
