Is Daniel Munoz really the best right wing-back to have played in the Premier League? | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher’s verdict has sent the debate into overdrive: is Daniel Munoz the Premier League’s best right wing-back? According to NY Times, the former Liverpool defender delivered that praise after Munoz’s first Nottingham Forest start, the 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

Munoz’s rise has been steep. At 16 he was among Los del Sur at Atanasio Girardot in Medellin, backing Atletico Nacional. Fourteen years on, the 30-year-old has won the FA Cup and the Conference League with Crystal Palace, and featured for Colombia at the 2024 Copa America and the 2026 World Cup, adding to 51 caps.

Since his £22 million move on 31 August he has played 122 minutes, a substitute outing in the 0-0 draw with Tottenham then that full debut at Villa Park. There he topped distance covered with 11.8km and led progressive passes with nine. He placed second for defensive line-breaking passes with five and chances created with four, plus four tackles and three aerial wins.

Oliver Glasner broadly concurred. He said Forest moved quickly once Munoz became available and described him as a consummate professional who seems 10 years younger, positive and tireless. Glasner would not rank him as definitively the best, but stressed he fits the plan and is already vital.

Munoz earned his break at Aguilas Doradas, reaching 94 appearances before Nacional signed him in 2019 and soon made him captain. Genk followed a year later, where he played 148 times and lifted the Belgian Cup in 2021. Palace brought him to England in January 2024, shortly before Glasner’s arrival the next month.

Seventy-eight of his 83 Premier League starts for Palace came under the Austrian. He was their 2024-25 player of the season, set up Eberechi Eze’s FA Cup final winner with a trademark low cross, and scored 11 goals in all competitions.

At Villa last weekend a similar delivery was back. Munoz’s driven ball from the right was deftly flicked on by Morgan Gibbs-White for Igor Jesus to finish, a hint of what might follow.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”