With the sun beaming down in west London on a glorious summer's day in August 2022, it seemed as if Manchester United had reached a new nadir following an already turbulent year or so.
United's plethora of expensive talent looked among themselves in anguish as the goals poured in at the Gtech Community Stadium, with a rampant Brentford heaping the pressure and scrutiny on new boss Erik ten Hag – following a prior defeat at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Dressed in their god-awful, neon green kit, the Red Devils looked almost akin to a radioactive element – something no one in their right mind would wish to get themselves involved with.
Watching somewhere else in the world, however, was a prospective summer target of glittering stature, a five-time Champions League winner who had likely never witnessed such disarray during his many years at Europe's top table.
That seasoned talent, though, saw not the chaos in front of him but the potential success that could be gleamed from reinvigorating that sorry band of stars, reportedly stating at the time: "Tell them I'll fix it".
A player of such standing in the game would have been forgiven for turning his nose up at making that questionable leap of faith, although as those at Old Trafford have come to realise, that is simply not in Casemiro's makeup.
How much did Manchester United pay for Casemiro?
It is fair to say that the Brazilian maestro was not Ten Hag's leading target heading into that summer window following the lengthy transfer saga involving his compatriot, Frenkie de Jong, with the former Ajax boss seeking to add some silk to his midfield ranks at the Theatre of Dreams.
As became abundantly clear following those grim defeats to both the Seagulls and the Bees, it was steel that United were in desperate need of, having for too long relied upon the much-maligned duo of Fred and Scott McTominay to hold the fort – a pair dubbed "not good enough" by club legend Roy Keane.
The dire nature of the defeat to Thomas Frank's men laid bare the need for a dominant, defensive-minded asset to be brought into the base of the midfield, although few saw the wisdom in forking out to sign a player who was perhaps moving past his peak.
That act of "desperation" – in the words of treble winner Gary Neville – saw the Old Trafford hierarchy fork out a mammoth £70m fee in order to bring the 30-year-old to England, with pundit Chris Sutton dubbing it "a panic signing" at the time.
Perhaps, in some ways, there was a sense of 'panic' about that costly move late in the window following the dismal start to the season, yet having been categorised as something of a "steady Eddie" upon his move to Manchester – as per talkSPORT's Graeme Souness – it is fair to say that Casemiro has proved the doubters wrong in emphatic style since then.
How good has Casemiro been for Man United?
It would not be wrong to suggest that the 31-year-old has arguably been the best signing that the club have made since bringing Bruno Fernandes to the Premier League back in January 2020, with few players having stamped their influence on the team quite so impressively.
Of course, fellow 2022 arrival Lisandro Martinez – who has been hailed as an "absolute monster" by Luke Shaw – has also made a strong impression over the past 12 months or so, although it is seemingly his fellow South American star who is the glue holding things together in the centre of the park.
That was evidenced by the fact that there was a stark drop in quality when Casemiro was not in the side last season, as per Neville, with the Sky Sports pundit going on to explain why he categorised the former Real Madrid man as the best signing of the season in the league:
"I couldn’t think of a player having as big an impact on his team singularly and I look at Manchester United’s season, obviously they think they’re going to finish in the top four if they finish the job this week, they’ve won the Carabao Cup and they’re in the FA Cup final.
"I genuinely don’t think they’d be anywhere near top four or doing what they’re doing in those competitions if it wasn’t for Casemiro. The impact he’s had on that team, he makes them 20-30 per cent better."
The difference when Casemiro was not in the team was seemingly "enormous" – as per Neville – while with Martinez, United coped adequately in his absence in the latter stages of the last season, with Shaw comfortably filling in at centre-back.
Although it has been a rocky start to the new campaign, Casemiro is, once again, beginning to prove just what a "monster" he is under Ten Hag – as hailed by writer Muhammad Butt.
How has Casemiro performed this season?
Somewhat foolishly, there appeared to be those who had written the 6 foot 1 titan off following the club's worrying start to 2023/24, with Neville stating that he got "torn to shreds" during the narrow win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening weekend.
While the £350k-per-week asset has been far from perfect since then, he is currently the club's leading scorer this season with four goals in all competitions, taking his overall tally to 18 goal involvements in just 59 games for the club to date.
Certainly no 'steady Eddie' then, the 73-cap international put on a real masterclass during Tuesday's Carabao Cup victory over Crystal Palace, operating as the "conductor" in the centre of the park – as per The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell.
Not only did the resurgent ace get himself on the scoresheet with a perfectly placed header, but he also picked out teammate Anthony Martial with a devastating whipped cross after the break – one of 100 passes he would complete on the night.
As per journalist Carl Anka, the one-time Porto man "looks to have shaken off that early season ring rust", ensuring he can once again be the "cement" in the side holding things together – as previously described by Ten Hag.
Much like Fernandes has been a shining light in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era – with 122 goals and assists in just 194 appearances – Casemiro has made his mark as a real leader at the Theatre of Dreams, having brought both personality and fight to United of late.
Be it his bellowing celebration away at Stamford Bridge last year, or the manner in which he grabbed debutant Rasmus Hojlund in praise at the Emirates earlier this month, the Brazilian is routinely coming up with ways to make supporters fall in love with him.
Quite whether his level of performance can be maintained for the long-term remains to be seen due to his advancing years, yet the Old Trafford faithful must count themselves lucky to have a genuine winner in their ranks once again, following the days of Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and the like.