REPORT: Man Utd To Make ‘Very Attractive Offer’ To Sign ‘Ideal’ Casemiro Replacement

BACK David Tully Feb 27th 2026 Man Utd are preparing to table a “very attractive offer” for Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye, according to reports in the French media. Foot Mercato claim that the Red Devils are looking for potential replacements for Casemiro, and they believe the 27-year-old could be the “ideal substitute.” Gueye played a key role in helping Senegal win the African Cup of Nations last month, scoring the winner in the final against Morocco, and there is an expectation that he will go on to bigger and better things this summer. As well displaying his skills for his country, he has also established himself as an integral member of Villarreal’s squad since he moved to the Yellow Submarine at the start of last season. What do fans need to know about Gueye? The Senegalese international came through Le Harve’s academy but he was involved in a bizarre transfer when he joined Watford in 2020. Almost immediately after signing a five-year contract with the Hornets, he was sold to Marseille. The reasoning given was that Gueye had been given bad advice about the details of his contract by his agent. He was told he would be paid £45,000 a week when he would, in fact, only be getting £45,000 a month. In the end, he moved to Marseille for €3m (£2.7m), spending four years with the Ligue One side (including a loan spell at Sevilla), before he was snapped up on a free transfer by Villarreal in the summer of 2024. Are Man Utd looking at any other Casemiro replacements? Brighton’s Carlos Baleba remains on the club’s radar, while there is said to be interest in Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali as well. Gueye would likely be the cheapest addition out of those options, whilst also being closest to Casemiro in terms of his style of play. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.