Man United's samba duo set to make the full back berths their own

have been waiting for the debut of Fabio da Silva for some time, and he did not disappoint. He made his debut for Manchester United on Saturday in the F.A Cup against a miserable Tottenham side and what a performance it was. His touch, positional awareness and willingness to drive down the left side may give Patrice Evra something to think about, the France left-backs place could well become under threat, given the impressive nature of the Brazilian's debut.

In conjunction with his brother, Rafael da Silva, who has been equally impressive this season, with his highlight being ‘that' sublime consolation goal against Arsenal. And in my book surging past Gary Neville and Wes Brown to become the chief right-back at Old Trafford.

Although not playing a senior game for Fluminense, Fabio da Silva made a notable impression for Brazil in the 2007 Under-17 World Cup finals in Korea, where he top-scored and captained the Brazil side. The FIFA website also praised the teenager, claiming, "Brazil's calm and intricate build-up play was impressive to behold as the imperious Fabio pulled the strings."

In accordance with this commendation, the BBC's South American football reporter Tim Vickery has also claimed Fabio to be the better of the twins, picking out his attacking threat, goal-scoring prowess and ability to influence a game from left-back. He also commented that Rafael is the more conservative of the two, a pronouncement that will leave Manchester United supporters salivating at such a thought, given Rafael's raids down the right flank.

When United scout Les Kershaw first saw the Rafael and Fabio play, he suggested they were "like whippets". A judgement that looks fairly accurate so far. One note of caution, Brazilian full-backs operate more like wingers and this could leave the defence exposed, but with good coaching this will no doubt be a moot point. High praise from many and with more potential than the Chinese economy It appears the full back berths at Old Trafford look set to become the domain of Brazil.