What did Carrick say about Casemiro's future?

The Brazilian has started every match under Carrick's tutelage, since he returned to the club as head coach in January, and he's been in impressive form during that time.

Case scored the first goal in our crucial 3-1 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday and, as usual, was a solid force in our midfield - helping the Reds to create a three-point gap over the Villans, who remain a place behind us in the Premier League standings, in fourth.

Fellow Brazilian Matheus Cunha restored United's lead after Ross Barkley had cancelled out Case's opener, and Benjamin Sesko then came off the bench to net another and give the Reds breathing room in the final stages.

After the game, Carrick was asked by reporters about Casemiro and whether he could stay beyond on this season, as the fans were suggesting, or how the club could go about replacing him, after it was announced in January that his time at Old Trafford would come to an end at the conclusion of this term.

The boss also addressed questions about Leny Yoro, Bruno Fernandes and comments from former team-mate Wayne Rooney. Read his quotes or watch the press conference in full by scrolling below...

Asked to talk through Bruno’s performance and his two assists…

"Bruno has done it for a long period of time now in the big moments, making the difference, whether he’s scoring or creating, he’s normally around it. Yeah, two very different goals obviously today. He’s got a really understanding with Case and working with Jonny [Evans] on set-plays and different things and spaces and whatnot. There’s a bit you can coach and a little bit of the players and the understanding with the players, they’ve got a great connection there with that and they’ve done it a few times before, so that was good. And then the passing around it and getting in positions where you can play that final pass, it was one we’ve seen before, and the he plays Ben in after that as well. There’s not a lot else to say that I’ve sat here and said before about Bruno, but I thought he was really good and I thought it was a good team performance as well."

On the possibility of Bruno beating the Premier League player assist record of 20 for one season…

"Yeah, maybe, maybe. I’d much rather points and us win than that, so I don’t think it’s something you go chasing for, I think it happens naturally anyway, but yeah, if he does then he’s obviously created goals for us, so we’ll be happy with that."

On Casemiro’s love for the club and if there is any chance he could stay for an extra season:

"I think, in some ways, it’s difficult to say, I think when something is decided, in some ways, the fact that it’s decided makes things a little bit easier and everyone understands the situation really. I think the impact he’s had has been terrific, certainly since I’ve been here and working with him, and his influence in the team and big moments in goals. And I think it was a nice moment at the end there with the supporters, and having that connection and the respect. That was a nice moment and I think he’ll enjoy that."

On what Leny Yoro brings to the team:

"I’ve been really impressed with Leny, I think he’s still so young as well and he’s a centre back playing at that age in the league, at a club like this, it takes a lot of understanding, composure, being able to cope. And I think his personality and his character, he takes it in his stride and I’ve been really impressed with him. There’s loads and loads to come and layers more to come from him, but I think that will happen naturally over a period of time when he learns and he’s experienced. But, listen, he’s played a good number of games here and he’s gained experience already, but at the age that he’s at, he’s doing really well. He’s come into the team and you can see him growing in confidence and that kind of natural getting back in the flow of playing games again and playing in a back four, which is something slightly different for him. I’m really pleased with him, he’s playing well, he’s training well and he’s a pleasure to have, he’s desperate to learn, and he does a lot of work with Jonny and Woody [Jonathan Woodgate] and a bit of extra, so he’s keen and always wants more, which is a good sign."

On Wayne Rooney’s comment that Carrick should get the job full-time, and blocking out the external noise about the situation:

"It’s not that much noise, is it? I don’t mean Wayne, I just mean in general. It’s only noise if you listen to it, I suppose. But it doesn’t affect me one bit, to be honest. I’m in this position at the minute, doing the best I can, and loving it obviously and we keep pushing for more, we want to make the team as good as we can, we want to keep improving everything. Whatever s going to happen is going to happen, but in terms of conversations, we get on great. I’ve just seen Omar [Berrada] and Jason [Wilcox] downstairs there, we had a chat about the game, how it’s gone and it’s all pretty open. It’s all pretty calm, to be honest. Today was a good win for us, so we can definitely enjoy the win and look forward to Friday night [at Bournemouth], but other than that, it’s all I'm thinking about really."

On replacing Casemiro, what he does in the dressing room and behind the scenes, is it a case of replacing him and other players also have to step up in terms of leadership?:

"Listen, this is totally no disrespect to Case, he’s been fantastic, he’s been a player for us and he’s been important in the dressing room and one that I’ve spoke to and connected with really well. But as a club and as a team, players come and go, some are bigger, some are maybe more important than others at different times, but I don’t think it’s ever really about replacing like for like, I think you can go in a different direction, you understand what the balance of the squad needs, whether that’s on the pitch, off the pitch, leadership, positionally - there’s all sorts of different things going into it. Case has done some really, really good things, certainly since I’ve been here, he’s been an absolutely pleasure to work with."

Asked about how the club will prioritise keeping Fernandes in the summer, alluding to an interview earlier in the season when his future was questioned:

"Yeah, in terms of the club and moving forward, it’s difficult for me to get involved in too much of that. Bruno is definitely not someone we’d want to lose, I can say that. But the summer or beyond that, it’s difficult for me to go too far with that. Certainly, he’s important for us and he’s not one we would want to lose."

On time spent on set-pieces and how it came about for Jonny Evans to lead on that:

"It depends really, it’s a funny thing because sometimes you score goals and all of a sudden, everyone thinks you’ve been training set-plays all week or you’ve been working on a certain thing all week. Sometimes, we don’t necessarily always work on it, but certainly with the meetings and the understanding, maybe it’s not always pitch time but Jonny spends a lot time [on it]. And then giving the players a lot of responsibility as well, and what they feel and what prefer to do as well, I think is important. They’re the ones, at the end of the day, that have got to kind of take that action on. The experience that they’ve got in and around that, I think we’re relying on as well. I think Jonny is doing great with all that and working with the players, as I said Bruno and Case have got that understanding and Harry [Maguire] is a big threat for us in the box as well. It’s proved to be successful for us in recent games and we need to try and keep pushing for that."

On Bruno’s influence and whether anyone else in the Premier League is playing as well as him this season:

"I don't know, it’s difficult for me to say really. Listen, he’s important for us, and he’s playing in positions now where we need to find him, and we need to supply him as much as we can, in order for him to make the difference. But it’s not just about Bruno, I understand he’s had some really important moments recently, and in the long time he’s been here, but I think it’s a team and the importance of sharing that responsibility, so it’s not always on one player, I think it’s really important. And then it does make everyone else’s job that little bit easier, so he’s not taking everything on himself, which he shouldn’t and he doesn’t really for us."