Manchester United make much-needed defensive upgrade with Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Manchester United need to make several significant upgrades to their back four this summer, and they’ve officially signed their top target in right back Aaron Win-Bissaka.
Though Crystal Palace right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was never in serious contention for the PFA Player of the Year Award due to the high-profile nature of front-runners Sadio Mane, Raheem Sterling and Virgil van Dijk, Wan-Bissaka did merit significant consideration.
Arguably the league’s best right back (along with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold), Wan-Bissaka is a wall for any attacking player. No right back on this planet is as assured defensively as Wan-Bissaka, whose tackles and interceptions stats are akin to a center back’s.
Manchester United had been pursuing Wan-Bissaka for several weeks, trading negotiations with Crystal Palace for the high-priced youngster, who is already a world-class talent. Both sides have finally agreed to a deal, with United officially announcing the signing on their website.
Wan-Bissaka will cost United 50 million pounds, making him the most expensive defensive transfer in the club’s history and the fourth-most expensive transfer overall, behind big-name attackers Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria. It’s worth noting that Di Maria is at PSG, Pogba is openly willing to leave and Lukaku is also ready for the next chapter in this career (though United are reluctant to sell both star players).
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the top two most-expensive transfers in United’s history, 50 million pounds is money well-spent on a player like Wan-Bissaka. United stumbled last season, failing to qualify for the Champions League, and they weren’t much better after firing the enigmatic Jose Mourinho.
Manchester United have looked like a dysfunctional club over the years, failing to get the most out of their rich attacking talent — namely forwards Marcus Rashford, Alexis Sanchez and Lukaku.
But the Red Devils’ defense has been even more problematic. Last season, United’s only above-average defensive player was left back Luke Shaw. They still need to make at least one major upgrade to the center back position, but signing Wan-Bissaka is a huge step in the right direction.
Wan-Bissaka is an excellent dribbler of the football in attack, ranking 13th in dribbles completed last season among all Premier League players, per WhoScored.com. He still needs to work on his crossing and chance creation at the right back position, but his passing accuracy and overall range of passing will improve with age.
It’s often difficult to believe that Wan-Bissaka is just 21, as his defending is already elite. The case can be made that he was the best defensive player in the Premier League behind van Dijk last season, as he was third in tackles and seventh in interceptions as a fullback. Opponents only completed 0.3 dribbles against him per game, which is a wonderful record at the right back position, as Wan-Bissaka is usually matched up against the best of the best.
Ricardo Pereira and Trent Alexander-Arnold deserve plenty of praise, but Wan-Bissaka is right up there as one of the best right backs in the league and in world football as a whole. He’s the best possible upgrade United could have made, and the 50 million pound price tag is fair. Wan-Bissaka will only get better at United and could help the club qualify for the Champions League again, though he’ll be but a cog in the wheel as a right back.
The England international’s confidence in attack as a passer will continue to go, but he’s already a dangerous player with the ball at his feet when taking the position on. More importantly, he’s already an immediate upgrade for United’s sieve-like defense, and he’s honestly by far their best defensive player on paper.
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It will be key for Wan-Bissaka to take the next step to super-stardom in his development if he is to become a centerpiece player for a Champions League team, since consistency is key. But Wan-Bissaka already looks like that caliber of a player based on his breakout campaign at Palace last season, so United should be ecstatic that they’ve signed him this summer. More star players are needed in this transfer window, but Wan-Bissaka is a great second signing after Daniel James.