The 32-year-old Brazilian turned down a move to Roma earlier in the transfer window as he wants to move to Saudi Arabia, where the wealthiest clubs would be able to pay him even more than his present wage of £350,000 a week.

Casemiro has not made it off the bench in United’s past four league matches because Amorim thinks that Toby Collyer, the 21-year-old academy graduate, is more suited to the pace of the top flight.

“Sometimes it’s a system fit, sometimes it’s the player’s [form],” Amorim told TNT Mexico when asked why Casemiro had not started a game in any competition since December 30.

“We know that Casemiro nowadays has other qualities. He is intelligent, understands the game, knows where the ball is going to be… but we are in a league that — and I can even see this in the European competitions — there is a big intensity difference, therefore I feel our team needs players with high intensity and sometimes we don’t have them.

“We all know Casemiro’s qualities and everything he has won, so I have nothing to add to that. It’s just a selection choice.”