[dev1l]

There's no way Valencia or Young would get picked ahead off a super fit Rafael on the right. Not in a 3-5-2, not in a 4-3-3, just no way.

A super fit Rafael does not exist ...try to stick to real players

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Moyes was fecking dinosaur so it was no surprise Rafael was injured more often, he looked like he was getting it together in 2012-13, deserves another year at least if Valencia, Cleverley and Young get another chance.

Well it doesn't help his reputation that the first thing Rafa did under Van Gaal was get injured after 45 mins of preseason football.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

I like him as a player but he's definitely replaceable so I would not be outraged like others should we sell him.

 

[Orton]

I think both Valencia and Young are currently ahead of him in the pecking order for right wing-back, all this could change throughout the season but he'd have to remain fit first...

Why? Valencia is only playing because Rafael's injured.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Why? Valencia is only playing because Rafael's injured.

How do you know that?

 

[Red Phoenix Rising]

I'm not his biggest fan...but to sell him instead of Valencia would be crazy

I just feel at face value - he doesn't have the discipline game to play a full wingback role. Before the flamethrowers come out - I love the little guy and would have him at right back in a 4 at the back scenario. I have to say that I think this has a lot to do with it. If it is true - of course. Loves the club which is why he gets a lot of respect.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Rafael isn't disciplined for 3-4-1-2? SAF trusted him in a back 4 and this formation has an extra CB covering what is everyone on about, he should thrive in this system.

 

[Steven Seagull]

How do you know that?

Didn't he start the first game and got injured?

What's he done anyway, his groin? He never seems to get a niggle and miss a game it's just 6 weeks out straight away.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Didn't he start the first game and got injured?

What's he done anyway, his groin? He never seems to get a niggle and miss a game it's just 6 weeks out straight away.

Valencia started the first game, Rafael came on at half-time.

 

[Ole'sbodyguard]

I can't see the club selling him, at least not yet.

Personally I think Rafael, Shaw, James, Young and Valencia is enough for the wing back roles with Rafael and Shaw as starters. Young has been a revelation in pre-season and I think Valencia, Rafael, Shaw and James can all play the role. There's also enough flexibility in the squad to change to a flat back four if needed.

If Rafael has another injury disrupted season then letting him go makes a lot of sense. Can't see it at the moment with the club needing another centre back and central midfielder.

 

[Phil]

feck right off.

 

[AkaAkuma]

3 weeks until the close of a the window, is there a club out there prepared to buy an injured RB? Im not so sure.

 

[Joga Bonito]

If he is being sold it means Cuadrado is going to come in. TBH I would rather we sell Valenca and keep Rafael. He is just 24 ffs and has shown so much promise and ability. The contract we gave Valencia could end up like the one we gave to Nani last season. Undeserved and Valencia has shown nothing at RB to justify a place ahead of Rafael in the squad. Valencia is defensively suspect with his concentration and positioning being below-par. He has good workrate and is physical but those qualities alone do not make a good wing-back. The only possible reason I can think of letting Rafael leave would be his injury proneness.

 

[Steven Seagull]

3 weeks until the close of a the window, is there a club out there prepared to buy an injured RB? Im not so sure.

Arsenal just squeezed £15m out of Barca for an older, more injury prone Vermaelen so it's possible.

That would leave us with Shaw as our only real full back. Not clever.

 

[rpitchfo]

I'd be sad to see him go (as long as it's part of a massive overhaul with plenty of cover coming in) as it signifies that we have a plan and an end game. Some times good players can't be part of a future strategy.

 

[charleysurf]

Yeah except for the fact Rafael actually knows what he's doing when he's got the ball on his feet and has ten times more potential than Nani or Valencia. Seriously I'm not even gonna read this thread anymore, biggest nonsense ever. And if we somehow sell Rafael... nah there's just no way Van Gaal would be so stupid. Unless PSG or Barca or Real are offering insane money for him and Rafael himself wants out.

I think we can all be quite sure that PSG, Barca and Real won't be breaking the door down offering insane money for him. So on that point you can be relieved.

Although I'm laughing that anyone has had the thought that those clubs would be so desperate to buy him. If they went for him it would be as a cheap punt. Seems like some serious overrating of him to think otherwise. If he wasn't so injury prone it would be very very different. But injuries have stopped all kinds of player from potentially being top class.

 

[limerickcitykid]

I don't think we will sell him nor do I want us to sell him but I laugh at how people on here acted as if he was clearly better than Coleman.

 

[charleysurf]

I don't think we will sell him nor do I want us to sell him but I laugh at how people on here acted as if he was clearly better than Coleman.

I don't think Coleman is any better as a football player, but Coleman is not made of balsa wood, and that's an important talent in the PL.

 

[Eric'sCollar]

Don't even think about it Louis, you have done so good since you have been here.

 

[Litch]

Injuries are mounting up for such a relatively young lad.

 

[Cantona'sCollar]

I don't think we will sell him nor do I want us to sell him but I laugh at how people on here acted as if he was clearly better than Coleman.

That's just silly. Coleman had the season of his life (admittedly he was excellent, but let him prove that he can do it again before we start acting like he is Cafu) in 13/14 whereas it was probably Rafael's worst year in his first team career so far. The season before (12/13), Rafael was miles ahead of every other full-back in the league bar Zabaleta (who was better defensively, but not as good going forward. Zabaleta still the better player that year, but marginally). In the seasons before that, Rafael was regularly impressive, if very erratic, while also full of promise including a very good 09/10 season at a young age.

Coleman, who is a year older, was not really hot property by any means until this season. He showed potential and his regular watchers knew he could turn into a very good player, but if Rafael was fit as a fiddle throughout his career (a big if, true), there would be clear daylight between them. Rafael is much more talented. It's a shame about his injuries.

Fair enough if you think Coleman is a superior player (to me, he was only better in 13/14) but Rafael has done more, so far, in less time. He is a very good and all, but let's wait until he keeps Bale & Ribery quiet, or sustains his form for over a year.

 

[Juan't Mata]

Honestly wouldn't be bothered if he left if we signed a decent replacement first. Ridiculously injury prone and still very rash and impulsive at times.

 

[harms]

Strange article on Daily Mail. Can't see us letting him go - and not only because I love him to bits. He is our only right back that is capable of playing in four man defense, which Van Gaal definitely prefers (he is talking a lot about 4-3-3 and how he would've play it with us if only he had enough quality on the wings, most recently - the Ronaldo/Di Maria interview). Even if we sign Cuadrado he isn't a full-back - he is probably better for a wing-back role but that isn't long-term plan for Van Gaal.

And, again, LVG talks consistently about our squad's misbalance, about how he want to sign players for the positions where we lack quality etc. To sell one of the decent performers on a very problematic position looks like a last thing that he would do right now (if we believe in what he says though, but why shouldn't we?)

 

[SilentWitness]

That would leave us with Shaw as our only real full back. Not clever.

This was my initial thought. If something wasn't working with the 3-5-2 and you wanted to shift back to 4 in defence it wouldn't be the best idea to play Valencia at RB as he has been caught out many times there.

 

[fallengt]

Can't believe some people actually buy into dailymail article. LvG would pick Valencia who have been consistently shite over Rafael? Yes sure, he's injury prone but our boss isn't going to kick him out just like that, Cleverly has been given proper chance to prove, why not Rafa? That isn't something LvG would do. Sorry but I don't believe it for a second.

 

[jason93]

I think it's all rubbish personally. I wouldn't buy into anything The Daily Fail spouts out. Even the positives.

Even if Rafael isn't a regular starter, I suspect LVG will keep him around as he and Shaw are our only real full backs and they're always useful if he wants to play a traditional back four. I expect Van Gaal to keep everyone except maybe Nani and Anderson. Not because Nani is the worst player or anything, but a lot of clubs want him and perhaps it might be time for him to move on.

 

[shabadu84]

Just see so many more reasons to keep him than sell, especially when you consider who would still remain. Can't see us signing any other true RB so really hoping we keep him until the winter window at least. He's done more to deserve a chance to prove his fitness and ability than Cleverley or Valencia imo.

And honestly, how can you not love the little bastard? Cut from the same cloth as Evra imo

 

[Trizy]

Great player and very underrated here on the caf, its just an awful pity he's made of glass.

 

[Bojan11]

Underrated? I'd say he is massively overrated on here.

But would be strange letting go of a entire back four and only signing Shaw.

 

[Morpheus 7]

Why the feck would we sell Rafael now? Daily mail have made up some utter dreck this summer, more than usual this window. We may as well throw out De Gea and Shaw, makes as much sense. Rafa is quality when he's fit, he was instrumental in helping us win our last league. He definitely has been picking up more injuries of late. I'm sure David Moyes rehabilitation plan of more laps to combat injury didn't help last season. Rafa offers more on the wing than Valencia has in 2 years. If he somebody good to link up with I'm sure he would get more assist's/goals. I highly doubt he will be leaving when we have so much to sort out already. Can't wait to the season starts so we got concentrate on the football on the pitch instead of nonsense of it

 

[Minimalist]

I'll be disappointed to see him leave. I still believe on his day he's one of the best full backs in Europe. I'm pretty sure he's still improving as well.

Seems an odd player to be sold.

 

[AkaAkuma]

Arsenal just squeezed £15m out of Barca for an older, more injury prone Vermaelen so it's possible.

That would leave us with Shaw as our only real full back. Not clever.

Vermealen isnt injured at this minute tho? Clubs dont generally buy players who are currently injured.

 

[Irish-Red-7]

Doubt it..

Quite a few in the squad that need to be shown the door before Rafa. We could upgrade on him of course but that's down the list of prioritys.

Was excellent in the last title winning season, injured at the moment and hopefully he's back soon. First choice down the right when fully fit.

 

[Rood]

you would think that he is ideally suited to being a wingback, still injured all the time though

 

[sglowrider]

you would think that he is ideally suited to being a wingback, still injured all the time though

I think he said he played as a wingback back in Brazil before coming to United.

 

[Dargonk]

I don’t like the idea of selling him. For me he is easily our best RB and I’d expect him to perform at RWB as well. Yes he is injury prone, but at the moment he is our only actual RB. It just doesn’t seem smart selling him when it would basically leave us with only Valencia and young for the RWB spot, and if we do go back to a flat four we will be stuck with either Valencia or one of our CB plugged into the role. It really would be disappointing if we sell him, so hopefully there are nothing to these rumours.

 

[Red Dreams]

I hope its not true.....us selling him I mean. Rafael would be perfect in the wingback role.

 

[ricky-romeo]

make no sense selling our only natural right back. i know we are playing with 2 wingbacks now but we could well return to 4-3-3 soon and rafael should be able to contribute in a 3-5-2 formation as well. hope this is not true at all.

we all know the only problem with rafael are his injuries. apart from that he has been great for us.

 

[BennyBlanco]

One of the only reasons I'd be against the move would be as stated above he's our only natural RB if we need to play 433, the fawning over the player by some United fan's I do find odd though, hes consistently rash but whats worse is his staggeringly awful injury record, even when fit to start so often he needs to be subbed prior the 70minute mark, what good is a player who never plays?

 

[Speak]

I agree that there would be almost no benefits to be gained by selling him this summer, even if we were getting in someone else in his position.

But theres a chance well be on here saying the same things about him this time next year. I don't rate him as highly as many others here do, and I think he can be upgraded on, but its not something that needs doing immediately whilethere are more pressing concerns and uncertainties about what system we'll be using going forward.

Next summer we'll have a clearer idea of the system and general plans, and it's then that it will make sense to look to replace him more long term, if need be.