United spent £70m to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid over the summer, but the Brazilian midfielder has barely featured for the club.
Casemiro – who signed a four-year deal at Old Trafford – is yet to start a Premier League game, making four substitute appearances thus far.
He played 90 minutes as United were beaten at home by Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener, and returned to the bench for the win over FC Sheriff.
United face Cypriot side Omonia in their third Group E match on Thursday and boss Ten Hag was quizzed about Casemiro ahead of the fixture.
‘We will play tomorrow our best team, we have to construct a team because we want a competitive culture,’ Ten Hag said.
‘It had nothing to do with Casemiro, it had all to do with Scott [McTominay]. When he wasn’t in the team at Brentford, we lost.
‘Casemiro will have an important role, we know his background, the titles he’s won, you see every day in training.’
Former England striker Darren Bent suspects Ten Hag didn’t want to sign Casemiro and feels he ‘doesn’t trust’ the 30-year-old.
‘I just question whether Casemiro was someone Ten Hag truly wanted,’ Bent told talkSPORT.
‘You have a look at Casemiro’s resume and what he’s carried out within the sport, performed on the highest stage, gained the most important competitions by the best way and within the largest sport of Manchester United’s season up to now [against Manchester City], he doesn’t go in.
‘I simply query to begin with whether or not he was Ten Hag’s signing. And secondly, I get it with the legs that [Scott] McTominay’s obtained, can get about, places himself about, has carried out properly on this run Manchester United have been on.
‘However that was a query mark when lots of people have been [talking about] Casemiro and I went, ‘Oh, Manchester United’s largest sport of the season and he’s not beginning’. That made me assume if Ten Hag does belief him or actually needed him.’
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