Munoz - 'The go-to definition of a Premier League full-back'
There were only 21 days between Daniel Munoz's arrival at Crystal Palace and manager Roy Hodgson's departure. Yet even before the Colombian international had set foot inside the club's training ground, Hodgson knew the defender would change fan expectations when it came to the full-back position.Speaking ahead of Munoz's arrival Hodgson said: "It's a very different type of player, a very different type of full-back to the ones that we have. Here's a younger man who will help the club going forward, and who has a different style of play."Now with almost 18 months of English top flight experience, during which the 29-year-old has missed only one of the 52 Crystal Palace Premier League fixtures, and after watching Munoz in the flesh during Sunday's victory over Tottenham Hotspur, I struggle to name anyone else who plays the wing-back role better.He was a constant attacking threat, assisting Eberechi Eze's opening goal, and a crossbar away from getting onto the score sheet himself. Going the other way, Munoz found himself more than a match for Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert or Mikey Moore, who all tried in vain to get the better of him.Munoz's most obvious asset is his fitness. After watching him go up and down all afternoon it's no surprise to discover only Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes has covered more than the 367 km he has this season. What sets him apart from everyone else in the Premier League is the volume of high intensity movement he carries out during matches. Opta's statisticians define this as both "high-speed running" (moving at 20-25km/h) and "sprinting" (25+km/h) and Munoz leads the way.Going forward, Fulham's Antonee Robinson and Wolves' Rayan Ait Nouri are the only full-backs who can match the 10 goal involvements Munoz has provided. He also excels in the more traditional duties expected of those in his position, sitting behind Spurs' Destiny Udogie and Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui when it comes to the average number of tackles made by Premier League defenders per 90 minutes.As is always the case, so called 'bigger clubs', will be more than aware of Munoz's progress, so understandably Crystal Palace acted to protect their asset last month, by extending his current contract through to 2028.During a season which has seen Kyle Walker move on, and the powers of Andy Robertson appear to fade, Munoz seems primed to take over as the go-to definition of a current Premier League full-back.
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