FC Barcelona: Would Manchester United's Rafael Make Their Starting XI?

FC Barcelona is reportedly keen on signing Manchester United defender Rafael.

The 20-year-old has impressed since joining and has had a great season to date for the Red Devils.

That form is believed to have interested several of Europe's elite clubs, including Spanish giant Barcelona who are keen on making a bid for the attack-minded right-back. 

As a specialist right-back, Rafael has the potential to be world-class.

Rafael is raw and is prone to rash mistakes, Bayern Munich last year being a prime example. He has pace and is potentially devastating as an attacking right back—to some extent as lethal as Dani Alves is for Barcelona and Sergio Ramos is for Real Madrid.

His defensive capabilities—his primary function—are somewhat weak however.

He often tends to extend himself down the park, and with the kind of system Barcelona deploys, a quick counter would certainly be a problem.

Having said that, Rafael has gone from strength to strength at Old Trafford and is starting nearly every game.

Manchester United’s unbeaten season so far has been in no small part due to Rio Ferdinand's return and the performances of Rafael, who is now demonstrating the same confidence in his defensive abilities as his attacking ones.

Rafael’s transformation from a cheeky Brazillian to a top Premier League wingback is due to hard work and exceptional management from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rafael's newfound consistency, defensive confidence and sensible play is what have made him one of the first names on Sir Alex’s team sheet.

The problem that stems up however, is the question of how he is going get regular games at Camp Nou.

With Dani Alves' contract dispute still stalling, and with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea ready to pounce on the Brazilian, is Pep considering replacing Dani with his fellow countryman—or is he merely going to be a backup?

Rafael's current success at Old Trafford and the confidence shown by Sir Alex to deploy him game-in and game-out would suggest that Rafael would not be interested in being another "super sub" at Barcelona. 

So how does Barcelona accommodate him in the first team?

Dani Alves has in the past played in the midfield for Brazil ahead of Maicon and shown great composure in that position, but with Barcelona's midfield being so exceptional I hardly believe that such a move would pay off.

I'm still confused as to what role Rafael would play if Barcelona are serious about making a big money offer for the Brazilian.