Marcus Rashford vs £55million Brazilian – Stats Show That Manchester United Do Not Need The Latter

Marcus Rashford vs Malcom – Do Manchester United Really Need The £55 Million-Rated Brazilian?

Manchester United are reportedly interested in a January move for Brazilian starlet Malcom, who currently plays for Ligue 1 side, Bordeaux. Club manager Jose Mourinho is understood to be quite impressed with the player’s abilities and is keen on bringing him to Old Trafford in the winter transfer window.

However, the financial aspect of it could lead to a roadblock since the club are believed to be hesitant to meet the asking price of £55million. Ordinarily, that price tag for a recognised player wouldn’t have been an issue but since it is for a relatively young player, the hesitation is understandable.

That said, the player has a lot of qualities which makes him worthy of that price tag. Malcom is known for his pace, creativity and finishing skills. He boasts of superior technique and has quick-decision making skills which often translates to effective results on the field. However, Mourinho already has a similar player in the form of Marcus Rashford. Both of them are more or less of the same age but whose stats are better? Let’s take a look.

Marcus Rashford vs Malcom

In 26 appearances for United across all competitions, Rashford has spent 1440 minutes on the field. The 20-year-old has scored 7 goals and 5 assists while picking up 2 yellow cards in the process. He averages 2.1 shots per game and has a modest pass success-rate of 76.3%. He wins about 0.5 aerial duels on an average and even picked up one Man of The Match award in a Champions League encounter.

Malcom, on the other hand, has made 20 appearances across competitions for Bordeaux and has spent 1467 minutes on the field. He has 7 goals and 4 assists to show for his efforts and has received 2 yellow cards so far. He averages 2.3 shots per game and boasts of a pass success-rate of 81.4%. He wins 0.5 aerial battles per game and has won 5 Man of The Match awards this season so far.

Verdict

As far as the stats go, Malcom and Rashford are more or less on the same page. Hence, in a situation like this, it does seem a bit unnecessary for Mourinho to splash out so much money on a player whose numbers match those of a similar player that’s already present in the squad. That said, statistics do not account for everything and perhaps Mourinho has something in mind. Regardless, United do not really need Malcom but the Portuguese manager could be targeting him to add some depth to his attacking options.