It was Jack Charlton who observed at the 1994 World Cup that full-back was, tactically, the most important position on the pitch. He was speaking at a time, admittedly, when 4-4-2 was the most common shape, meaning full-backs tended to have space in front of them, but the basic point still stands.
Full-backs are the valves of a team, capable of being pushed up or dropped back to add pressure in midfield or bolster the defence accordingly. From the end of the season, it was clear that one of Manchester United’s biggest priorities this summer was to sign a right-back who could give them these tactical options.
Louis van Gaal clearly had no faith in Rafael, who made just 11 appearances last season, and, well though Antonio Valencia did replacing him - by his WhoScored rating (7.23) he was United’s joint sixth best player last season - he is no specialist. In that regard, the news this week that United are poised to sign Matteo Darmian is no great surprise. United were in desperate need of a player on the right who can give them a measure of tactical control.
Darmian is 25, is a touch over six foot - and so has the height that United lacked at times last season - and can play on either flank: he played 19 times on the right and 15 on the left for Torino last season, always as a wing-back.
That means he can also compete for a place on the left; assuming he does sign, the days of Ashley Young having to fill in at left-wing-back are surely over. And that means that there will be constant pressure on Luke Shaw, a player about whose commitment to self-improvement Van Gaal was scathing of early last season.
Signing a wing-back, particularly one who has also played as one of three centre-backs - more for the national side than Torino - suggests that Van Gaal still sees the back three as a viable option, despite the problems his British centre-backs had in adapting to its demands last season.
That’s not to say he is necessarily set on a back three, though: with Michael Carrick, Daley Blind or perhaps Morgan Schneiderlin, who also looks set to join from Southampton, sitting in front of the back four, the full-backs still have license to get forward; the capacity to attack form full-back has been a feature of all of Van Gaal’s best sides.
Not that Darmian is the most attacking of wing-backs. In the league last season, he contributed just two goals, one assist, 0.4 crosses per game and an average of 1.2 key passes per game.
That’s not too dissimilar to Valencia, who made 18 of 29 starts as an orthodox full-back, contributing no goals, two assists, 0.7 crosses per game and an average of 0.8 key passes per game. Rafael, in far fewer games, contributed no goals, one assist, 0.5 crosses per game and 0.6 key passes per game.
Perhaps more intriguing are the defensive stats. United had more possession than any other team in the Premier League last season with 62.2%, while Torino had just 48.3% in Serie A, which should logically mean that their defence spends more time on the ball and less regaining it.
Yet, Valencia made both more tackles (2.9) and more interceptions per game (1.9) at right-back than Darmian (2.6 and 1.3, respectively), something that can’t satisfactorily be explained by his deeper starting position.
It’s possible - no more than that - that Valencia’s lack of experience at full-back led him to a more hyperactive style of play than was always necessary, that he attempted tackles he didn’t always need to make, something perhaps reflected in the fact he also committed more fouls per game (1.2) than Darmian (0.9).
If United land the Italian, they are getting a reliable, versatile defender. It’s an addition of expertise they’ve been in need of.
