He is the best wing-back in the Premier League, according to Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher. Few players have contributed more to Crystal Palace's success under Oliver Glasner. But it is not so long ago that Daniel Muñoz was considering alternative careers.

After more than a dozen unsuccessful trials with clubs in countries ranging from Colombia and Mexico to Spain and Italy, unattached and out of pocket at the age of 18, he reluctantly resolved to apply for a visa to go and work in the United States.

In hindsight, it was a blessing that another rejection followed.

Muñoz still had two years to wait to make his professional debut with Colombian side Aguilas Doradas aged 20. "A hard and difficult road," is how he described his path to the top in a recent interview in his homeland. But from Colombia to England via Belgium, he has been making up for lost time ever since.

In Crystal Palace's 3-3 draw with Bournemouth, Muñoz gave another exhibition in what makes him unique among Premier League defenders, setting up two of Jean Philippe-Mateta's goals in a performance brimming with ferocious intensity.

"Typical Daniel," Michel Ribeiro, a first-team coach at his former club Genk, tells Sky...