The pros and cons of Daniel Munoz as Everton linked with latest right-back

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Another week. Another potential right-back target has been mooted for Everton.

With a move for Celtic’s Alistair Johnston stalling, albeit it still feels that is a deal that could end up being done should Everton manage to get the Hoops down to a fee closer to their valuation of the Canadian, a raft of other names have now been put out there as potential targets.

The most prominent among them has been Daniel Munoz, Crystal Palace’s bombarding Colombian international.

Munoz has been, without doubt, one of the most impressive right-backs in the Premier League since he joined Palace from Genk in early 2024.

There is talk an £18M offer may well lure Palace into selling Munoz, so here, we run through the pros and cons of the potential signing.

THE PROS

First off, let’s look at Munoz’s key statistics, because they are impressive.

Since he made his Palace debut in February 2024, Munoz has made 82 Premier League appearances, all of those being starts.

He has created 94 chances, which ranks 3rd among Premier League defenders in that time. In fact, his tally of chances created from open play (91), tops the charts, as does his 20 goal involvements in the competition (8 goals, 12 assists).

Munoz has registered 8.8 expected assists, which ranks 4th among Premier League defenders in this time span, ahead of Lucas Digne (8.2) and just behind Andy Robertson (8.8), with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Pedro Porro leading the way.

It’s clear: Munoz is a top-tier attacking full-back, albeit he has mainly played as a wing-back during his time at Palace, so that is something to take into consideration — naturally, he has been in more advanced attacking positions more often.

But he is not shy at doing the dirty work defensively, by any means.

Munoz leads the way among Premier League defenders since his debut in the competition when it comes to duels contested (910), while he ranks 4th for duels won (461).

He has gone in for the most tackles attempted (252), though interestingly, Tyrick Mitchell, his opposite wing-back at Palace, places second (239), so this could be down to the Eagles’ system under Oliver Glasner.

Munoz has won the most tackles of all Premier League defenders (163), 16 more than next-best Mitchell (147), while the combative South American (and you can’t have enough of them, in this writers’ view) also ranks highly for interceptions, with 94.

THE CONS

Munoz is an excellent player, but a major obstacle to this deal representing good value for Everton would be his age.

He turned 30 in May, and while there hasn't been signs of a significant drop off just yet — indeed, Munoz was excellent for Colombia at the World Cup — it would be a big investment for a player of his age, especially when taking wages into account.

If it were to be combined with a younger full-back coming in, then there would certainly be logic there, but Everton’s funds are definitely limited, and time is also running short as the window draws towards its conclusion.

Then, as mentioned, is that there is somewhat of a question mark over how well-suited Munoz is to playing as an out and out right-back, especially in a David Moyes team.

Playing as a wing-back suits Munoz down to the ground. He can use his pace and stamina to bomb up and down the flank, but he is already positioned that much higher up the pitch, and he has essentially the entire wing to himself.

It would therefore require a slight tactical tweak, from the player and from the manager, in order to ensure Munoz can still have the desired impact, even if playing from a deeper position in the defence.

It’s a rumour that has got plenty of Evertonians excited, though, even if there is understandable concern over his age, while he also had some injury issues last term.

But Everton need to make a decision soon, and if Munoz is available and open to coming, then he would provide the instant lift in quality that is so desperately required.

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