Rumours of a return for Rafael?

For those of you that are relatively new here, a quick refresher: we love Rafael. We love him with a giddy, pure affection that takes no notice of his occasional brainfades, his moments of madness, his total lack of reliability. We love him because he is everything that is good about football: running fast, attacking freely, and occasionally flying through an opponent when appropriate.

And finally, after what seems like decades of watching Antonio Valencia take to defending the way sheep take to scuba diving, it seems Louis van Gaal might be coming round to our way of thinking. The Mirror's David McDonnell reckons that Rafael's strong showing in the reserves on Tuesday — as well as doing all the normal stuff, he scored a 30 yard lob with his wrong foot — combined with Valencia's miserable outing against Arsenal, might add up to one last chance for the little Brazilian.

Tottenham come to town on Sunday, and our man might be asked to face them. If you're reading, Louis, make it happen. We all need a little more fun in our lives.