Antonio Valencia has been one of those players in the Manchester United squad who has experienced a smooth ride getting into the first team unlike most of his teammates. Whenever he has been fit, he has started. Moreover, Matteo Darmian has been also forced to play in the left-back role for Valencia.
With the Ecuador International definitely not a long-term prospect for United given his age, United boss Jose Mourinho has decided to give his side back some competition. Reportedly, Mourinho is eyeing a move for Feyenoord defender Rick Karsdorp coming January.
The 21-year-old is expected to give a tough competition to Valencia. The right-back apparently impressed the Portuguese manager in their Europa League group stage match. He has been a regular in Feyenoord’s first team making 17 appearances in the Dutch league this season already.
He has won 14 tackles this season with a success rate of 40%. He has made 25 interceptions, 33 clearances and four blocks. He looks pretty solid for a 21-year-old and is quite sharp on the offensive. He has scored once and set up three goals so far.
His runs on the right flank is very much akin to Valencia’s style of play and could be an ideal replacement if nurtured properly. Karsdorp likes to play one-twos while sprinting up the flanks and has caught attention for his ability to pick up key passes. His passes are quite perfect and so are his shooting abilities. He has an average passing accuracy of 81% and shot accuracy is 51%.
If he had a bit more pace, he could have been quite similar to Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin. However, Karsdorp can cross quite well and his concentration in the game is praiseworthy. If fostered properly, he could turn out to be a great player at United. However, despite having a height of 182cm his aerial abilities lack that sharpness that would need improving.
After quite a shaky start to the season, Manchester United finally look to have found some ground in the league, winning back to back three matches. They have qualified for the Europa League knockout stages and are closer than ever to the top four bracket.
Interestingly, Mourinho isn’t known to be a manager too concerned with a club’s long-term prospects. Hence, when he is eyeing a move for Karsdorp, this means he has grand plans for the player, which increases the probabilities of Karsdorp’s first team chances.
