“It’s really close” – Ten Hag speaks about competition between two Man United defenders

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has spoken about his options at right-back.

The Dutchman currently has Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as his first-choice full-back options with Brandon Williams also capable of filling in.

However, with both Dalot and Wan-Bissaka offering different attributes, fans have frequently seen the pair rotated and the manager has broken his silence on why that may be.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday night’s important Premier League match at Old Trafford against Thomas Frank’s impressive Brentford, the former Ajax boss, when quizzed on Dalot and Wan-Bissaka, said: “I think it’s really close competition between them.

“Maybe Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] gives you a little bit more defending and Diogo [Dalot] gives you maybe a little bit more offence. But I have to say, I think they both made progress in both areas.”

Over the course of this season, Dalot has 18 Premier League starts to name with Wan-Bissaka starting in eight games.

Although there is an argument to suggest that the Dutchman prefers the Portuguese full-back, there is no denying Wan-Bissaka’s importance to the side, especially in games where the opponent has a deadly left-sided winger – something fans witnessed during United’s Champions League tie against PSG back in 2020 when the London-born defender was tasked with keeping Kylian Mbappe quiet – a mission he passed with flying colours.

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