Casemiro identified as middleman if Neymar joins Manchester United as ‘teammates love him’

Casemiro may be the middleman if Neymar does end up joining Manchester United, talkSPORT has been told.

Rumours of a move for the Paris Saint-Germain superstar have begun to gain traction, and Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag has done little to put them to bed.

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Neymar could be set to leave PSG this summer with a sensational potential move to Man United being reportedCredit: Getty

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Ten Hag did nothing to put the rumours to bedCredit: redevilslatest

French media giants L’Equipe first revealed that discussions have taken place with Premier League clubs, and particularly United.

And when Ten Hag was asked about the story at a press conference, he replied: “When I have news, I’ll tell you.”

Like many, talkSPORT’s South American football expert Tim Vickery was taken aback by the Dutchman’s statement, and revealed that there are rumblings in Brazil.

“What’s being reported here is that there’s a middleman in this deal, Casemiro,” Vickery said. 

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Casemiro could be key in getting the deal doneCredit: Getty

“He knows Neymar very, very well from years on international duty, starting with the U20 team all those years ago.

“I think one of the points that Casemiro is almost certainly making is the caricature belies the man a little bit, he isn’t just the showpony that you think he is. He’s willing to put in a shift, it’s striking how popular he is with all of his teammates.

“The big worry is especially with the ankles and with the foot and you’d think the intensity of English football at 31, is that where you want to spend your hard-earned cash?”

Vickery then proposed an alternative theory, which would involve PSG’s Qatari owners’ involvement in Brazil.

“There’s a rival story that possibly he might go back to Santos,” he said. “There might be a big injection of cash from the same people at PSG. 

“Santos is a small town, less than half a million people, but it’s looking increasingly hard to compete at Pele’s old club.

“You’re looking at hard times unless money men come in and think the brand is so strong they can do something with it, and there are whispers that might be happening.

“In that case Neymar could go home, but there aren’t that many clubs in Europe that can afford him, and most of them are in the Premier League.”