Casemiro had three demands that Man Utd had to meet during transfer talks

Casemiro informed Manchester United that he needed to know where he would be living, training and playing during the talks that helped failing to land his primary target in the summer.

Erik ten Hag made strengthening United’s midfield a priority following his arrival from Ajax, but was left frustrated after failing to land his primary target, Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman’s reluctance to leave Barcelona forced United and Ten Hag to seek midfield reinforcements from elsewhere.

Few midfielders in Europe boast a resume as impressive as Casemiro – so it should be no surprise that United turned their focus to the £60million-rated Real Madrid lynchpin.

The multi-time Champions League winner was eventually persuaded to leave the Bernabeu to join Ten Hag’s rebuilding project at Manchester United, and the 30-year-old has already made a seismic impact in the Premier League. Now, for the first time, the details behind the conversations that helped convince Casemiro to seek a fresh start overseas have emerged.

The Manchester Evening News have revealed that as Casemiro is not fluent in English, talks often took place through FaceTime with translators present. But Casemiro quickly informed United football director John Murtough that he wanted to know three key things: where he would be living, where he could train and where he would play.

United were already aware of Casemiro’s gym routine; contacts at Real Madrid had already alluded to the midfielder’s penchant for lifting weights as early as 8am during his time in the Spanish capital. A United employee was sent to film a walkthrough of the gym facilities available at the club’s Carrington training base after Casemiro requested an oversight of what was on offer.

After being gradually introduced to life in the Premier League, the Brazilian has now become one of the club’s most pivotal players. United have lost just one of the 10 matches the enforcer has started – and Casemiro’s on-field leadership qualities have already shone through following interactions with the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford during some of United’s bigger games.

The report goes on to outline that Casemiro was enthused by United’s ‘eagerness’ to sign him – and that the club’s desire to get a deal may have played a big part in persuading him to turn his back on Real Madrid.

“He told me when we had the first talk he needs a new challenge,” Ten Hag said when the deal was initially confirmed back in August. “Because with Real Madrid he won everything. He was a big part of Real Madrid, still they don’t want him to go but he had the feeling I have to go to another club, to another league to prove myself and that shows his hunger, I really like that.”