The mood around Old Trafford and Manchester United fans has been nothing short of monotonous, to the point where fans have been expressing their concerns over the lack of transfer activity by tweeting #GlazersOut in an attempt to get the club back on the right path.
Since this post has been written, the club’s social media account has yet to tweet in 18 hours, which isn’t surprising seeing as most of the responses are the same, using the same hashtag. Supporters are waiting agonisingly in the hope a signing will be announced.
NEXT: Terms agreed: Man Utd agree £80,000 per-week deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Positively, it looks like the club have made significant progress with their attempts to sign Crystal Palace right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Reports yesterday emerged from the Daily Record that United had agreed a £55 million fee, whilst Andy Mitten, a well-respected United journalist, confirmed this, £47 million up front with additional add ons, rising to £55 million. The 21-year-old has been nothing but sensational in his first full season in the Premier League, and it is clear why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to add the England under 21 international to his side.
Defensively, Wan-Bissaka is one of the most sought after players in Europe. He has made more successful tackles – where possession of the ball is regained or the ball goes out of play – than any other player in the top five European leagues this season, with 129. Every other player who ranks anywhere near him is a central midfielder, with his closest-challenging full-back Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira. On top of this, he was only dribbled past 7 times out of 35 Premier League games he played all season and never more than once in a single game. What United get with the money then is arguably one of the best defensive full backs in Europe. Furthermore, he has an average tackle succession rate of 3.7 per game, again, one of the highest for any defender in The Premier League. Wan-Bissaka therefore, represents to be a stellar defensive signing for United.
Offensively, he does like to bomb forward, yet this side of his game can improve with more experience. He impressively made 56 crosses into the opposition penalty area in just 35 Premier League matches, creating 14 chances but only assisting 3 goals. However, with better offensive players at United, this will significantly improve his chances of getting better acclaim for his contribution to goals. Along with a passing accuracy of 73%, these statistics are eye-catching, considering he completed this in a mid-table team like Crystal Palace.
Wan-Bissaka represents to be a smart move by Manchester United; Young, hungry and talented, he has all the attributes needed to take his game to the next level and can replicate to Solskjaer what the famous Gary Neville did during his time in that position, defensively sound with an eagerness to create chances and score goals. A valuable addition to an out-of-date squad.
