5 current Premier League players who have shifted positions successfully

#2 Antonio Valencia

Wayne Rooney Testimonial: Manchester United v Everton — Antonio Valencia is tireless going forward and uncompromising in defence

Valencia joined Manchester United from Wigan Athletic to do the impossible task of replacing Cristiano Ronaldo. He had a couple of productive seasons as a right winger before he slipped into mediocrity.

A self-aware team player, Valencia gave up the no.7 jersey as he did not deem himself worthy of it. And then, in came Louis van Gaal. He transformed Valencia into one of the best right-backs in the world.

The Ecuadorian is, almost always, the cog that sets United's counter-attacking transition in motion. A tireless toiler, Valencia sprints up and down his channel relentlessly. He is one of the most hardworking fullbacks in the Premier League.

For a player who looked like he was in the autumn of his stint at United 4 years back, Valencia's successful transition into an out and out fullback has reaped rewards for both himself and United.

He is pretty popular among his teammates and is adored for his impeccable work ethic. Ander Herrera, United's player of the year from the 2016-17 season, hailed Valencia as the best right-back in the world.

And the icing on the cake? Following the departure of Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia has been handed the captain's armband by Jose Mourinho who promises nothing short of glory to the Old Trafford faithful.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Amit Mishra