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Manchester United’s plans for the summer transfer window became a lot clearer this week, when midfielder Casemiro confirmed that he planned on leaving the club at the end of the season. The Brazilian talent has been an ever-present member of the Old Trafford starting XI since he made the move from Real Madrid for €71 million in 2022 and the Premier League giants will have to nail any signings made next season if they hope to adequate replace Casemiro’s skill and influence on and off the pitch. So who could the Red Devils turn to to replace the defensive midfielder?
As one of the richest clubs in the world, Man Utd are no strangers to digging deep to sign big players for important positions. And whether it be Paul Pogba’s €105m move to the club in 2016, Mason Mount’s €68m move to Old Trafford in 2023 or indeed Casemiro’s arrival in 2022, the Old Trafford club have often spent at least €60m on key players in the middle of the pitch. So, with that in mind, who is available to sign for a fee in that region in 2026? Using Transfermart’s extensive database of players and world-leading market values, we’ve compiled a five-man shortlist for the club to consider in the summer.
Five players that could replace Casemiro next season
Perhaps the most obvious candidate to replace Casemiro is a player that has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford and that is Brighton talent Carlos Baleba. According to multiple reports, the Cameroon international has attracted the interest of Man Utd and it’s not hard to see why. Although Baleba is still learning his trade at Brighton, he has already shown an incredible capacity to win back the ball in the middle of the park, alongside an impressive technique to weave through opposing players in the middle of the park. However, having signed for Brighton in 2023 for €27m, it remains to be seen how much the Seagulls would demand for a player that could go on to be a world class defensive midfielder in the future.
Another Premier League prospect that has been heavily linked with a move to Man Utd in recent years is Adam Wharton. The Crystal Palace midfielder is now in his third league campaign in the English top-flight and despite only being 21 years of age he has already nailed down a starting spot at Palace, a call up to the England national team and seen his market value shoot up to €60m - making him the most valuable player at Palace and the ninth most valuable Englishman in the world. Wharton is perhaps more of a deep-lying playmaker, with a fantastic capacity to thread passes around the final third for Oliver Glasner’s team. Coupled with his eye for interceptions and smart tackles in the middle of the pitch, Wharton certainly fits the profile of a perfect Casemiro replacement.
If Man Utd aren’t prepared to fight for the signature of Baleba or Wharton, they may find more success with a move for Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana. The Belgian international has undoubtedly been one of Unai Emery’s most important players this season and has performed admirably as a clear-cut defensive midfielder that wins tackles, gets the ball back and then moves it on to better playmakers in the team like Youri Tielemans or Morgan Rogers. As such, the 24-year-old talent could prove to be the perfect player to place alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes in Man Utd’s midfield next season. However, Villa are no slouches in the transfer window and would likely demand at least something similar to the €51.5m they received for Douglas Luiz in 2024.
Should Man Utd instead prefer to turn to the continent in favour of a Casemiro replacement they could do a lot worse than Stuttgart star Angelo Stiller. Since making a lowkey €5.5m move from Hoffenheim in 2023, Stiller has gone from strength to strength for the Swabian club, establishing himself as the linchpin of Sebastian Hoeneß’s midfield and a regular for the German national team. The former Bayern Munich youth academy graduate is perhaps more of a deep-lying playmaker rather than a hatchetman in midfield, but he’s no stranger to getting stuck in or indeed protecting his defence from counter attacks. Alongside Mainoo in a midfield two, Stiller could be utilised as an excellent box-to-box talent that could defend and attack in equal measure.
Last but certainly not least on today’s shortlist is something of a left-field option for Man Utd this summer. Arthur Vermeeren has bounced around a few clubs since rising to prominence in Belgium. He first joined Atlético, then moved to RB Leipzig the following year and is now spending this season on loan at Marseille. The French club has an option to make the move permanent, but that wouldn’t get in the way of a serious move from Man Utd in the summer. At the Ligue 1 side, the 20-year-old prospect has shown an excellent capacity to not only win the ball in midfield but also a fantastic eye for threading passes into the final third. And while a young prospect from RB Leipzig may not be the blockbuster signing most Man Utd fans would crave, he may be the perfect long-term replacement for Casemiro that the team certainly needs.
