Why Manchester United must buy this Rafael replacement

It is safe to say that Manchester United have not had the best of seasons. Dumped out of both domestic cups at home to teams in the bottom half of the Premier League and currently sitting in seventh place in a league which they ran away with just a year ago, the Red Devils can only find solace in a Champions League run which saw them set up a quarter final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.

David Moyes has been ridiculed and scrutinised for months but it is highly likely that United will stand by their manager and give him another transfer window to sort the squad out. It is unquestionable that they need to strengthen all over the pitch with a whole host of central midfielders, central defenders, left backs and wingers all being linked with a move to Old Trafford despite us only just coming up to the end of March.

Another position where United need to improve their options in is the right back area.

Rafael is United’s only senior, natural right-back in their squad but the Brazilian has been in-and-out of the team all season, mainly due to injuries. They have been forced to use Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Chris Smalling as cover at stages this season which has cost them crucial goals at vital times in games with all three not being used to playing in that position.

All of this has led to speculation that Moyes would like to raid his former club Everton for their in-form right-back Seamus Coleman, who the Scot signed for the Toffees for a mere £60,000 back in 2009, with the Mirror reporting that they are in ‘advanced negotiations’ over his signature already. But how does the Irishman compare to United’s staple right-back Rafael? Let’s see.

Whilst Rafael may have only played 16 league games this season, Coleman has only missed two games, making 26 appearances and he has been Everton’s stand-out performer according to his total Performance Score of 954. There is no doubt that most United fans will be happy to see any in-form player coming walking out of that Old Trafford tunnel next season with Coleman not being an exception.

In a defensive sense, Rafael is at least able to compete with Coleman on a statistical level this season. The Brazilian wins an average of 2.06 tackles per game compared to his Everton counter-parts tally of 1.62. However, Coleman commits less fouls per game and has averaged a higher defensive score per game.

But it in an attacking sense that Coleman has been streets ahead of any other right-back in the league, never mind just Rafael. His tally of six goals speaks for itself but it is his chance production rate that has set him apart from the rest. His tally of 1.23 chances created per game beats Rafael’s average of 0.93 but it is his average attacking Performance Score that shows just how impressive he has been as an outlet this season. Coleman racks up an average attack score of 17.6 per game, making the United full-backs total of 1.78 pale into insignificance.

Without doubt, Coleman is growing into a fantastically well-rounded modern fullback, who has the ability to create from a wide area as well as get back into his base position to help his defence out. Full-backs these days have to run up-and-down the wing for 90 minutes and have good technical ability and Coleman certainly has shown he can do it all.

Although being in-and-out of the United team this season hasn’t helped Rafael’s cause, times are changing at Old Trafford and it seems inevitable that this time next year, we will see a very different side gracing the turf at the Theatre of Dreams. Alongside Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta, Rafael was widely recognised as one of the best two right-backs in the Premier League last season but right now, he should be playing every game like it’s his last to show Moyes that he can perform at his best on a regular basis to remain the first choice next season.

It is obvious that other areas of this United side need strengthening more than the right-back slot but not only would Coleman provide excellent competition for Rafael but his signing would mean that the Red Devils wouldn’t have to worry about that side of their defence for a number of years. Whether Everton are willing to let their old manager come in and take arguably their best player from this season from them, is a completely different question altogether.