Aaron Wan-Bissaka still has a long way to go to salvage his Man United career but his recent starts have pleased Erik ten Hag.
Wan-Bissaka has started successive games for the first time since March
Erik ten Hag is grateful to finally have competition at right-back after Aaron Wan-Bissaka started successive Manchester United matches for the first time since March.
The £50million defender deputised for the injured Diogo Dalot in the home wins over Burnley and Nottingham Forest in the League Cup and Premier League and is set to start at Wolves on New Year’s Eve.
West Ham are interested in signing Wan-Bissaka on loan in the January transfer window but he is unlikely to be allowed to leave United when he is among their senior full-backs.
The 25-year-old went almost 10 months without starting at Old Trafford and Dalot’s hamstring strain has granted Wan-Bissaka fulfilling playing time after only four minutes all season prior to the Burnley tie.
“First, you have to be on the pitch and in the first half of the season he was either injured or ill, so you don’t have a role in the squad,” Ten Hag said.
“I think the break was good for him, he returned, he was in the training camp in Spain, he could play some games in preparation for the restart. Now he played two games and is doing really well, so I’m happy with his performance. We need that competition in the squad.
“By training, by coaching, he has to play games in the team and then you can develop and then you can grow.”
Wolves have two wins in two games under new coach Julen Lopetegui, who oversaw a stirring comeback at Everton on Boxing Day when Rayan Ait-Nouri scored a stoppage-time winner.
Lopetegui was Sevilla coach when they defeated United in the Europa League semi-finals in 2020 and he has also managed Real Madrid and Spain. Ten Hag said after United’s win over Forest on Wednesday he had already studied Wolves’s performance at Goodison Park.
“I just finished this game and I have had a look at their base formation, I had a short look at yesterday’s performance against Everton, I got notice from it,” Ten Hag explained. “But to be in detail, think about a game plan, no, I’m not that far.”
Source: dailylifeworld.com
