When I arrived here, and it was down to the language I was fortunate Bruno would help me a great deal,” Casemiro says. “He was always brilliant, and taught me lots about the club. I have a very good relationship with Bruno, we get on really well. United fans had to wait seven weeks for Casemiro to make his first Premier League start as manager Erik ten Hag eased him in gently – and were left screaming out for him as they watched their side get demolished 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium in early October. Suffice to say, Casemiro will be the first name on Ten Hag’s team-sheet when Manchester City visit Old Trafford in the return game on Saturday lunchtime.

Casemiro with the Champions League trophy last May – the fifth he won with Real Madrid. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images He studies his opponents and their strengths and weaknesses in detail before games and is a huge football fan who will generally watch a game a day, which is surprisingly uncommon for modern day players. Some of the older academy players have been overwhelmed by the time he affords them. The Manchester United Foundation say much the same.

It’s a club with great history, I will have to work hard to make a name for myself because there, I have won nothing yet. At Manchester United, first of all, what I want is to transmit the way I feel about the club, my respect. Does he ever lose it? He has his moments, although he can’t speak to some players because he can’t really speak in English. As a leader, he knows when he has to be a little bit tough and when he has to be more composed.” verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ At United, Casemiro has continued to see the devil in the detail, his match preparation heavy on studying the opposing players, their strengths and weaknesses, their statistics. He also finds out the referee’s name and a bit about him so that he can make a connection, one which may work for him and the team. The club have already won a trophy and we’ve clinched third place in the Premier League and now we’re in this final,” Casemiro says. “So, whenever you talk about long-term projects, which this is, it’s normal for it to take time for a manager’s mentality, his philosophy to be taken on board, but I believe we’re more comfortable now.

Casemiro wants more and it is another line from his unveiling interview that has come to linger. “I have a lot of ambition to win,” he said. “If next year we don’t win the Premier League or the Champions League, I will be sad and angry.”He has been having regular English lessons both inside and out the club and considers improving his grasp of the language his greatest urgency. That dedication is starting to pay off. Staff have been impressed by his knowledge of United’s history and, while he is a particular fan of Paul Scholes, he has enjoyed chatting about Eric Cantona and Roy Keane. Of all his current team-mates, Marcus Rashford is said to have stood out for him and he believes the England striker could become one of the world’s best. With Casemiro, United are averaging 64.1 passes into the final third per game compared to 51.3 without him and their open play crosses, possession and pass accuracy statistics all shoot up who dramatically when the Brazilian plays. Listening to the Old Trafford crowd roar its approval whenever Casemiro makes another raking pass has, sources said, left a huge impression on the player. If a garlanded footballer who claimed five Champions Leagues at his previous club, Real Madrid, raised an eyebrow at his manager’s selection that day he is too professional to mention it. Instead, Casemiro talks loudest where it matters most: on the pitch, as in February’s Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle, heading the opener in a 2-0 triumph that secured Ten Hag the first trophy of his tenure and which, alongside a third-place finish, moves Casemiro to praise the manager’s impact in his opening season.

The Red Devils will welcome Manuel Pellegrini's men to Old Trafford this Thursday for a last-16 clash, having beaten Barcelona in the play-off round. Casemiro, 30, was instrumental in both legs but could find himself missing an upcoming fixture as United resume their European campaign following Sunday's appalling 7-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool. In his modest way, Casemiro deflects a question about how the wisdom gained from his quintet of European Cup triumphs might be drawn upon. “It’s true that when you’ve played in so many finals and lots of games and you’re 31 and have that experience, you try to pass on that experience, to instil calm,” he says. “It’s a very important game but we also know that it’s one you should enjoy – a final. But together with my teammates, we can share our experience. We’ve got David [de Gea], Bruno [Fernandes], Rafa [Varane] also who has won countless titles.” Casemiro is one booking away from suspension in the Europa League, giving Erik ten Hag a headache ahead of Manchester United's first-leg tie against Real Betis.Casemiro congratulates Bruno Fernandes after he scored against Fulham in United’s last game of the Premier League season. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images With a potential third ban this term in mind, Casemiro could be given a much-needed rest on Thursday. However, that'd mean Ten Hag would be risking his absence in later rounds, such as next Thursday's second leg, as players are only given a clean slate at the beginning of the semi-final stage. What have so impressed the staff at United are Casemiro’s hunger and professionalism. Is he sated by his five Champions Leagues plus 13 other honours at Real, including three La Liga titles? Absolutely not. Casemiro wanted to take on a new challenge, feeling that his cycle at the Bernabéu was over, and it says plenty that he went for a total change in a new country with a different language and football culture. These are the basic principles. Beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass, get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past it would be the No 10 that would be required to do that. I saw an interview with [Juan Román] Riquelme [the Argentinian playmaker] once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets. When it became clear that United would not get De Jong, and the truth was that he could not have been clearer from the outset about not wanting to move, the club sounded out Adrien Rabiot at Juventus. Then, bang, they got Casemiro.

If anything, the debacle appeared only to deepen his desire to move to Old Trafford and this notion of Casemiro having become “fixated” on the transfer, as one source put it, was reaffirmed when a United delegation flew to Madrid a few days later to seal the deal. Lisandro Martínez and Casemiro celebrate after winning the League Cup final. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian In a first English campaign Casemiro has been sent off twice and suspended for eight matches, the only blemishes on a contribution that has been a prime factor in United’s success. After April’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa his post-game “debate” with Fernandes seemed heated. There had been similar scenes at the final whistle in the Carabao Cup victory. Perhaps predictably, Casemiro talks only glowingly of his relationship with his fellow speaker of Portuguese. Casemiro is such an important player, he’s been in big places and how you see him on the pitch is the way he is off it – just a really calm guy,” Fernandes says. “He doesn’t speak English really well yet but in the way of football, the way he can communicate with his teammates, he speaks really well. The Brazilian’s impact – on and off the field – has been nothing short of sensational. There are some fans who have likened it to that of Eric Cantona in 1992 and, if that is big talk, well, this is a club where that sort of thing is a part of it.

United fans knew that Casemiro would bring the aggression along with his positional sense and reading of the game, to see the danger before it unfolds. The pleasant surprise has been what he has done in possession. There was the feeling in Madrid that he was a pure No 6 because of who he played with – Luka Modic and Toni Kroos. He sacrificed himself in pursuit of a platform for them. But Casemiro is much more than a mere enabler. Roméo Lavia, who should be available now Southampton have been relegated, is another option, though United would face competition for the Belgian from a number of Premier League suitors. The 19-year-old is one for the present and the future. There are other players in the mix who could add some bite to midfield, notably Palhinha, Edson Álvarez of Ajax, and Marcel Sabitzer, who has spent the second half of the season on loan at United. As one goal after another flew in and Manchester United found themselves 4-0 down and humiliated at half-time at Brentford in August, there were more than a few people at the club worried as to whether Casemiro might have second thoughts about joining them. Casemiro scores for Manchester United against Reading in the FA Cup. He has four goals and five assists. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images