Aaron Wan-Bissaka Must Stay Put At Manchester United This Summer

There has seldom been a bigger turnaround in a Manchester United players’ career than Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s this season.

From a player who was completely sidelined from Erik Ten Hag’s plans to becoming an important cog in a defence that kept 15 Premier
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League clean sheets, the former Crystal Palace right back has had a resurgence like no other.

Wan-Bissaka came back into the team just before Christmas, playing against Burnley in the EFL Cup, picking up one assist. After that 90 minute performance, the England U-21 international went on to make seven consecutive Premier League starts for the Red Devils.

There has been a plethora of transfer talk throughout the season, suggesting that Manchester United will delve back into the market and sign a new right back to replace Wan-Bissaka at the end of the season.

Diogo Dalot, who has been sharing the minutes, has also had a positive season, making 42 appearances across four competitions. After returning from AC Milan, where the Portugal international made a fantastic impression, Dalot was expected to take the next step forward and claim United’s right back spot for his own.

And while he had done that in the first half of the season, Wan-Bissaka, to his credit, made huge strides forward and provided proper competition and a worthy challenge. Ten Hag clearly likes to promote the competitive side among his players and will want all positions to be battled for going into next season.

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It has been noticed how well Wan-Bissaka and Dalot complement each other in the Manchester United squad. The Portuguese defender is far more attacking, creative and acts as a secondary winger in support of Antony; while Wan-Bissaka, defensively, is one of the very best in the world, especially when it comes to one-on-one duels.

Wan-Bissaka, however, has improved in the final third. While his goals and assists tally is low, there has been a clear progression in his comfortability pass the halfway line, creating chances and providing a threat. It is unlikely that he will ever be a profile of a marauding full back, but his defensive prowess more than makes up for his attacking limitations.

Signed for £50 million from the Eagles, both Wan-Bissaka and Dalot find themselves entering the final year of their contract. Manchester United have a big decision to make as to whether they offer both new deals, or firmly decide to opt for one and sell the other on the market this summer before they are able to leave for free.

Manchester United fans would now say that Dalot is the more likely to leave from their perspective, with the links to Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong. The Dutch international, who used to be among Manchester City’s youth ranks, has been consistently talked about as a player who Ten Hag appreciates and would look to bring in as that attacking right back.

There are no better players in Europe right now than Wan-Bissaka in terms of one-on-one defending, so Manchester United will find it incredibly difficult to bring in a player of similar quality to the traits he possesses. There are, however, attacking full backs – like Frimpong – who can emulate Dalot’s qualities, if not better them.

Wan-Bissaka should stay past this summer after showing his appetite to learn and grow under Ten Hag while also consistently being a defensive rock when called upon. He might have had a tough start to life under the former AFC Ajax boss, but he has finished the season with a flourish.