Man Utd’s Search for Casemiro Replacement Takes £100 Million Twist—Report

The Red Devils are prepared to spend big on their next midfield general.

Casemiro will leave Man Utd this summer. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali features “very high” on Manchester United’s shortlist of replacements for the departing Casemiro, a report has claimed.

Casemiro’s departure at the end of the season has already been confirmed, setting United up for a summer transfer window in which they are expected to go “very big” in pursuit of at least one new midfielder.

Reports have named Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest as United’s priority target, but The Telegraph state Tonali is close to the England international in the club’s estimations.

Newcastle are expected to demand close to £100 million ($136 million) to sell Tonali, whose exit has been talked up by his agent after a puzzling conclusion to the winter transfer window saw Arsenal named as surprise suitors.

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Would Tonali Be the Right Signing for Man Utd?

Sandro Tonali has plenty of admirers. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Before the emergence of players like Anderson, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and even United’s own Kobbie Mainoo, one criticism of English football was its inability to create deep-lying playmakers—tempo-setting talents that had inspired success for the likes of Spain and Italy in recent years.

Tonali was one example often used against England. Bearing an uncanny comparison to Andrea Pirlo, both technically and physically, upon his senior breakthrough at just 17 years old, the Italian’s style of play has only gone up in value over the past nine seasons.

Players who can sit at the base of midfield and combine a love for pulling strings with a passion for crunching tackles are all the rage in 2026, and it is why the likes of Anderson, Wharton and Tonali are all emerging as £100 million-rated targets for the Premier League’s elite.

Casemiro’s impending exit will leave a hole at the base of United’s midfield. One spot will be handed to Mainoo, but there is a glaring vacancy beside him, with Manuel Ugarte currently the only senior alternative. Reports backing United to sign more than one new midfielder this summer would appear to make a lot of sense.

What United would get with Tonali, who is still somehow only 25 years old, is a guarantee of his quality at the highest level.

Anderson is enjoying his first season as a top Premier League talent, with Wharton currently in his second year in that bracket. Tonali, meanwhile, has six years on the books at AC Milan and Newcastle, well over 200 appearances for those top clubs and four seasons of Champions League pedigree to his name.

When we start talking about these huge prices, it becomes less about overall talent and more about the confidence that the player in question can make the desired impact. There are no doubts about Tonali at this level, whereas Wharton and Anderson still bring an element of risk through their comparative inexperience.

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The Competition to Sign Sandro Tonali

Tonali could be offered the chance to return to Italy. | Image Photo Agency/Getty Images

Tonali’s agent has done an excellent job of getting his client’s name into the headlines. Links to Arsenal towards the end of the winter window were reportedly sparked by Giuseppe Riso, who then came out and denied the whole thing.

A separate interview from Riso followed days later in which he firmly opened the door to a summer exit, warning Newcastle of Tonali’s Champions League ambitions and suggesting the midfielder will consider his future if the Magpies cannot give him what he wants.

Chelsea and Manchester City have been named as admirers of Tonali, and Arsenal’s interest is thought to exist on a smaller level than rumours of a winter transfer may have suggested. Now, United seem to be forcing themselves towards the front of the queue.

Complicating any pursuit of Tonali is the allure of Serie A. Juventus, the team with which Pirlo ended his career in his homeland, are known to be incredibly interested in luring the midfielder back to Italy this summer.

Tonali’s agent has insisted there is “no preference” when it comes to his next move, although there are numerous claims suggesting he would lean towards a return to Italy if the option arrived.

Ultimately, Tonali falls in the same bracket as Anderson and Wharton. The trio are all big-money targets for most of the game’s top sides, who will now be ranking their options before getting a start on their summer business.

If Tonali does hold out for a return to Serie A, his English suitors will be forced to move on quickly, well aware of the extent of the competition for Anderson, Wharton and other popular alternatives.

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