Seamus Coleman or Rafael Da Silva? Rafael, or Coleman? If you were David Moyes right now, would you settle for the current Brazilian right-back at Old Trafford, or would you make a move for Coleman, who the Scot previously worked with at Goodison Park? There might not be anything in it, but Sky Bet consider Manchester United favourites to sign the Irish defender, with Arsenal second in the list.
Forgetting about the odds and the fact Chris Smalling can play at right-back, I thought that I would take a look at how the two rank in terms of statistics from this season.
Rafael has only managed 10 Premier League appearances this season due to injury, whereas Coleman has 22 to his name, so bear that in mind.
Getting forward and delivering balls into the box is a big part of being a full-back, and the Republic of Ireland international has 26 key passes to his name so far, whereas Rafael has 10. Both are pretty respectable scores.
In terms of goals, Coleman wins by a huge margin, as he has scored five so far and Rafael has failed to bag even one.
Coleman has a better duel success, a better tackle success and has won a larger percentage of headers than the United man. He’s also won a much bigger proportion of his take ons than Da Silva, as well as topping him on pass completion rate and shot accuracy.
In fact, the only thing Rafael has over Coleman this season is that he has averaged one more defensive action per game.
If there is a chance of Moyes picking up Coleman, then I would suggest that he goes all out to do so.
