adminJamie Carragher has delivered glowing praise for Nottingham Forest defender Daniel Munoz after his impressive performance in the club’s recent Premier League victory over Aston Villa.
Forest secured a 2-1 win at Villa Park on Saturday, giving them their first league victory of the season and moving them onto five points from their opening four matches.
While several Forest players caught the eye during the victory, it was Munoz who particularly impressed former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Carragher.
Carragher Full of Praise for Munoz
Munoz made his first Premier League start for Nottingham Forest following his summer move, and his display against Villa immediately demonstrated why manager Oliver Glasner was so keen to bring him to the club.
Carragher discussed Munoz’s performance on Monday Night Football and placed the Colombian in an extremely high bracket when discussing Premier League wing-backs.
The former Liverpool star highlighted the player’s statistics, particularly the amount of ground he covered and his ability to move the ball forward.
“When we talk about Munoz, we’re going to look at his numbers from the weekend. Distance he covers, the progressive passes, all of these metrics, he’s right up at the top,” Carragher said.
Carragher then compared Munoz with some of the most successful wing-backs to have played in the Premier League.
He pointed to Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side as an example of a successful system using three central defenders and specialist wing-backs, mentioning Marcos Alonso as the standout option on the left.
The former defender then made an even bigger statement about Munoz.
Carragher suggested that the Nottingham Forest man belongs in the conversation as the best right wing-back the Premier League has seen.
He also made it clear just how highly he rates the player, describing Munoz as “absolutely sensational” and admitting that he is a big admirer of the Colombian.
Munoz Impresses Against Aston Villa
The statistics from Forest’s victory over Aston Villa help explain Carragher’s enthusiasm.
Munoz covered 11.8 kilometres during the match, the highest figure recorded by any player in the game. He also registered nine progressive passes, again the best tally in the match.
The Forest defender also recorded five defensive line-breaking passes, four chances created and 14 successful passes into the final third.
His defensive contribution was equally notable, with Munoz completing four tackles during the encounter.
His combination with Morgan Gibbs-White also caught the eye, with the pair helping Forest create problems for Villa throughout the match.
Forest Appear to Have Landed a Major Addition
Nottingham Forest reportedly paid around £20 million for Munoz, with the transfer potentially rising to £22 million depending on additional conditions.
The Colombian already had considerable Premier League experience before arriving at the City Ground, having previously worked with Glasner at Crystal Palace.
That relationship appears to have played an important role in Forest’s decision to pursue him.
Munoz was part of the Palace side that enjoyed considerable success under Glasner, and the Austrian coach was reportedly determined to reunite with the wing-back after taking charge at Forest.
His first start has now provided an early indication of why Glasner wanted the player.
Forest have endured a mixed beginning to the campaign, but their 2-1 victory at Aston Villa provided an important boost. They currently have five points from four Premier League matches.
For Munoz, meanwhile, the challenge will be maintaining the standards that earned such strong praise from Carragher.
If he can consistently reproduce the attacking, creative and defensive numbers he delivered against Villa, he could quickly become one of the most important players in Glasner’s Nottingham Forest side.
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