David Moyes would be crazy to sell Rafael

Manchester United boss David Moyes is set to purge his squad in the January transfer window with Rafael reportedly at the top of the list, according to the Daily Express.

The Brazilian right-back features among the names set to face the axe but it would be another misstep from Moyes should he decide to let the youngster leave Old Trafford.

The Daily Express believes that Rafael is yet to earn the trust of his manager after being dropped from the first-team for the visit of Stoke City last weekend.

The young Brazilian had been ruled out of the early part of the season with injury, but made a successful return to action three weeks ago and played two Premier League games in a row prior to the Stoke clash.

Rafael broke into the first-team under Sir Alex Ferguson and established himself as the first-choice right-back, but Chris Smalling and Phil Jones has deputised in his absence and Moyes appears to feel that the position is in need of an upgrade.

However, judging from his statistics so far this season, the Red Devils boss would be far too hasty in letting the full-back go.

His defensive work so far has been impressive, with a 100% tackle success rate and winning 75% of his headed duels so far this season.

Add to that an average of nine defensive actions per game and it paints a picture of a hard-working full-back getting involved in the dirty work.

Defending isn’t the only thing Rafael does well as he created two chances for his team-mates in the two games he has played so far, as well as recording a pass accuracy rate of 69%.

That last figure is slightly misleading given the amount of crosses and long balls Rafael attempts, with eight crosses in two games in addition to ten long balls.

Rafael Crosses v Southampton

The game against Southampton may not have been Rafael’s greatest in terms of performance, but it demonstrates the attacking threat he poses the opposition which Jones or Smalling do notoffer.

In addition, Moyes should be wary of offloading Rafael when his only other natural right-back is Uruguayan youngster Guillermo Varela, who is yet to make his debut for United.

The former Everton boss is already struggling to make an impact at Old Trafford and with United some way off the pace in eighth place, Moyes would do well to trust in the players he has at his disposal.