It’s a well-known fact that Sir Alex Ferguson is an advocate of the “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough” school of thinking when it comes to youth development. In Fergie’s eyes, there’s only so far a young player can be carried by alleged “great potential” before he needs to produce the goods. This season, the performances of Rafael da Silva suggest the Brazilian is no longer looked upon as just “a promising full-back” at Old Trafford and is, instead, starting to prove himself an integral member of the Man United first-team.
With John O’Shea, Gary Neville and Wes Brown for competition, Rafael has had a fight on his hands for the right-back slot, but impressive displays, both domestically and in Europe, suggests that the United boss has come to regard him as first-choice. Following a spate of injuries, Rafael has started the last three games for United (picking up an assist and three Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points) and the team have scored ten times, conceding just once, as they climbed to the top of the table.
Ferguson was full of praise for the United defence, in particular, following the 1-0 defeat of Arsenal at Old Trafford, saying:
“We defended very well, the back four were fantastic tonight, absolutely magnificent. So with that foundation it always gives us a great chance. I think our form is improving. And, as I say, with the back four playing like that, if they play like that from now on and give us the consistency, then we’re in with a good chance.”
Such words of encouragement should certainly reassure any Fantasy Managers mulling over a move for the youngster. Rafael, subject of a recent Technical Area article, comes in at just £5.6m and has a mere 1.8% ownership, a ridiculously low figure considering United have conceded just four times in their last seven games.
With their next six gameweeks including the Double Gameweek 24 (SUN, bir, wba, STK, tot, BIR & blp), United have a fairly straightforward run over the busy Festive period and investment in their players will no doubt be high. There’s a chance Rafael may not be involved in every single game but with the games coming thick and fast, practically every team in the league will be heavily prone to rotation in lieu of the recent postponements. What’s becoming apparent, though, is that Rafael is proving himself to be a fundamental part of that back four and with Fergie’s seal of approval, is weighing up to be something of a Fantasy Bargain.
