Manchester United were sold a lie with Aaron Wan-Bissaka

The Manchester United defender has been targetted by attackers on a few occasions this season…

When Manchester United signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace for an initial fee of £45m, there was bound to be plenty of excitement in the air. Gareth Southgate was a known advocate of the full-back and if he could break into the England first team at the age of 21, then he would surely be good enough for Manchester United.

However, during his half a season as a player, this has not been the case, yet it hasn’t been spoken about as much as it should be. The blame on social media seems to be pinned on other factors such as the midfield but when you look at the statistics, it’s actually Wan-Bissaka who is to blame.

Take Manchester United’s most recent match against Burnley for example, where they lost 2-0. According to Sofascore, Wan-Bissaka lost possession more times than any other player on the pitch (34).

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Most of Burnley’s attacks came down Manchester United’s right hand zone, where Wan-Bissaka was supposed to be covering. This isn’t the first time this has happened either, since Liverpool and Arsenal have also humiliated United by targeting the zone in which Wan-Bissaka is supposed to be defending. For one of the best defensive full-backs in the world, or so he is rumoured to be, this is not good enough.

Obviously, you do need to take some factors into account such as Wan-Bissaka only being supported by Daniel James on the right-hand side who, let’s face it, isn’t the most defensively equipped either.

I’m not saying that Wan-Bissaka isn’t a talented full-back. Obviously he is, otherwise Manchester United wouldn’t be spending the big bucks on him. However, to classify him as a good defender of the ball just because he makes a few tackles is unjust and Solskjaer needs to realise this if he is to fix his defensive form.

In fact, surely the need for Wan-Bissaka to make so many tackles, many of them being last-ditch shows that he is doing something wrong in the first place. These are all simple things which can be easily fixed if the problem is addressed.

Wan-Bissaka is excellent going forward but there has to be some reason why the big teams, and even Burnley, are targetting his side of the pitch and prevailing. He doesn’t react well to pressure which any full-back should be taught to do.

What do you think of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s displays in a Manchester United shirt so far?