There have been plenty of positives for Erik ten Hag to take from Manchester United's last two matches.
The Red Devils have netted four goals in both games, with Rasmus Hojlund now firing, but what will concern the boss is their inability to deal with transitions.
For most teams, the midfield often stops counterattacks at the source, but that hasn't been the case for United, and therefore changes could be made for their game against West Ham on Sunday.
Casemiro's last two performances
Last weekend, Casemiro returned from injury to start against Newport County in the FA Cup, when the Red Devils progressed with a 4-2 victory. The Brazilian is known for being a "monster" on the field, as per football writer Muhammad Butt, however, he struggled to keep up with the intensity of the game, was extremely wasteful on the ball, and was weak in his duels.
Yellow cards
1
1
Fouls
4
3
Dribbled past
0
4
Possession lost
18
5
Pass completion %
64%
89%
Duels Won
12 (5)
14 (6)
As you can see, his game against Wolves wasn't much better, other than the fact that he retained the ball much better.
Yet, from an out-of-possession perspective, he was being toyed with by the Wanderers' attackers, with one drop of the shoulder being enough to dribble past him with ease. The 31-year-old also lost eight of his 14 duels, which prevented United from retaining and regaining the ball.
That said, in fairness to Casemiro, the early yellow card didn't help with those particular scenarios, but his booking was received for a silly challenge in the first place.
Scott McTominay could make a difference against West Ham
Scott McTominay's future role as a Man United player seems to be that of either a super sub or a player to be brought into the starting XI with a certain mission, which will most likely be based on the opponent rather than Ten Hag's approach.
The Scotland star has played 19 matches in the league this season, but he has only started 12, with the development of Kobbie Mainoo pushing him further down the pecking order. However, this weekend, the number 39 could partner the 18-year-old in midfield over Casemiro.
The table below shows some of McTominay's key statistics from this Premier League season and how they compare to his positional peers.
Goals
0.46
Top 2%
Shots total
2.47
Top 6%
Touches (Att pen)
2.86
Top 20%
Tackles
2.47
Top 29%
Tackles (Mid third)
1.24
Top 17%
McTominay is a player who is happy to do the dirty work for his team, whether that be making selfless runs off the ball to create space for others or scrapping for the ball in the middle of the park, as shown by his tackle statistics.
Previous manager Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer also praised the 27-year-old for being a "physical monster," which will be important against the extremely tough and intense West Ham midfield.
The Norweigan also alluded to McTominay's ability to impact the game in the final third, and he's proved that this season by being United's top scorer in the league with six goals. This would help Ten Hag's team break down the stubborn Hammers, with his threat in the box being among the best in the league, as shown in the table above.
Is McTominay the ideal replacement for Casemiro in the long-term? No, but he is the best option United currently have.
