The only travesty about Casemiro's five months with Manchester United is he is yet to receive a chant. Bastian Schweinsteiger got one. So did Radamel Falcao. Angel di Maria received the obligatory "Ar-gen-ti-na".
When Casemiro's name is announced at Old Trafford, the applause is still not quite as reverential as it was for Schweinsteiger or Falcao, two crocks whose impacts can be summarised with a word starting with 'cr'.
Casemiro has bucked the trend of United's marquee additions. He has not so much hit the ground running but pounded it, covered it and dominated it.
Also read: 'Everything is possible' - Varane on a possible United title challenge
Whereas Marcus Rashford's celebration revolved around what must soon be a trademarked gesture, Casemiro embraced two young supporters in the front row. A delirious middle-aged man offered a bear hug and Casemiro obliged.
Pep Guardiola hugged Casemiro at full-time. Casemiro never encountered Guardiola's Barcelona but he had a cameo in the Catalan's "biggest tactical f--k up" when Real Madrid rinsed Bayern Munich 4-0 in the 2014 Champions League semi-final. It is telling that Casemiro was unused as Madrid shipped four goals at City in last season's semi-final first leg.
Casemiro is the most attacking defensive midfielder you could clap your eyes on. He crowned his first Premier League start with an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo's last meaningful club goal. With Casemiro, the United midfield has not been this imperious in over a decade.
When eight of us sat down for a luncheon with Erik ten Hag at the Barceló Montecastillo Golf resort in Cadiz last month, it was the day of the first World Cup quarter-finals between Brazil and Croatia and the Netherlands and Argentina.
Ten Hag purred at the mention of Casemiro and opined he was possibly the best player at the World Cup up until that point. "He's playing really incredibly good, such a big effect on the game for Brazil and when it was necessary, he came forward and scored the winner (against Switzerland). He's playing excellently.
"I think Neymar likes to play with him because he's always in space. He has value for the team. So you didn't see it that spectacularly at Real Madrid because he knew Kroos will do it, Modric will do it. In front, Benzema finishes. So he covers all the gaps.
"When it was needed in a close game, he came forward and scored the goal."
Ten Hag noted how passionate Casemiro was during the Brazilian national anthem and how he transferred that to the game. That evening, Casemiro converted his penalty in Brazil's shootout defeat to Croatia.
It was a reflection of the dire state at United in late August that the £70million deal for Casemiro generated justifiable scepticism. A 30-year-old serial winner from Real Madrid seemingly past his peak. United had become a retirement home for the 30-something elite.
Schweinsteiger, in the words of one teammate, "took the p--s" with his jet-setting while in a knee brace to watch his wife, Ana Ivanovic, on the tennis circuit. Edinson Cavani overruled medical staff to decide when he played and was prone to extended sojourns in Uruguay. Di Maria skipped a pre-season tour to ensure he relocated to Paris. Alexis Sanchez was a busted flush. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a shadow of his former self in his curtailed second season.
Casemiro is in the same bracket as Ibrahimovic, scorer of 28 goals in his successful first year with United. Only that United were also-rans in the Premier League and this United is being touted as title challengers. Casemiro's effect is arguably more transformative.
During their FaceTime calls, Ten Hag was struck by Casemiro's hunger to conquer a new league and it is etched on his impassioned face. The mention of Casemiro at Ten Hag's press conference on Friday predictably prompted the "cement between the stones" analogy the United manager has uttered on half-a-dozen occasions.
The only United player Ten Hag has spoken about as gushingly is Raphael Varane. Minutes after the full-time shrill, Varane approached the north stand and turned cheerleader, hoisting his arms seven times to jubilant cheers.
It is not something you associate with Varane, a softly-spoken centre half, the ice to Lisandro Martinez's fire. "At the end I felt a connection with the fans," he said in the mixed zone afterwards. "We really want to win and to do that against a big rival, in our home. We live stronger with this. It was beautiful."
Varane's commercial opportunities have increased in the wake of his transfer to United yet he is as driven as Casemiro. So diligent he researched United's infamous set-piece defending months before his transfer was finalised.
"There are no words," Varane said of Casemiro, before being prodded. "He covers so much ground. He runs so much. He’s aggressive when he wants the ball, yet calm when he has the ball. He was incredible one more time."
The signing of Varane, a decade later than intended, was worth the wait. The drubbings last season marked him out as United's most important player and the last time Varane started and finished a game United lost was in May.
Varane also embraced fans by the tunnel. So did Fred. Players scorned and subjected to a rendition of 'You're not fit to wear the shirt' at Brighton and Brentford are more than fit enough.
Fred is now serenaded to the anthemic sound of Joy Division. Varane and Casemiro are deserving of their own chants.
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