06 September 2023 , 06:47
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has often been lamented for his decisions while in charge of Manchester United, but Erik ten Hag may thank him for one.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has often been a divisive figure among United fans since he joined the club in a £50million transfer from Crystal Palace in 2019. The right-back was signed by Solskjaer and initially struggled to live up to the expectation that his big price tag brought.
But after years of patchy form and rumours of a transfer to another club, Wan-Bissaka appears to have now found consistency under Ten Hag. The United manager is so happy with his progress that a new contract is being discussed behind the scenes, according to The Telegraph.
Solskjaer is now long gone, having been sacked by United in November 2021, but the Norwegian may still afford himself a wry smile and Wan-Bissaka’s turnaround. That is because he took plenty of flak for insisting on the signing four years ago.
The Telegraph reported at the time that United had a list of 804 options to fulfil the brief at right-back. After discussions with the recruitment team, it was Solskjaer who stuck his neck out and insisted on paying Palace the premium they demanded for Wan-Bissaka.
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The 25-year-old has now made 164 appearances for the club, including 34 last season as he became Ten Hag’s preferred option at right-back, ahead of Diogo Dalot.
And while United have made a sluggish start to the 2023/24 season, losing two of their four Premier League games, Wan-Bissaka has been an ever-present.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is set for a new contract at Manchester United (Michael Regan/Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Does Aaron Wan-Bissaka deserve a new contract? Comment below.
He has enjoyed working under Ten Hag, who has helped develop his game. “It's been good, especially for myself,” he told the club website recently. “I've learned a lot under him. And there's more to come, more improvement to be done. So, yeah, I'm happy. He's helped the team. You can see the team's transition has changed.”
One of the major bugbears of United fans over the years has been Wan-Bissaka’s lack of output in the final third. While he is a solid one-on-one defender, he is not the most natural in providing support on the overlap.
“Yeah, it's things I've been working at,” he added. “It's what the manager wants, he wants me in those areas of the pitch. It also helps the team, whether I've got the ball or not, just to make space for them and create opportunities.”
In an interview with The Times in May, Ten Hag said of Wan-Bissaka: “We make an effort in going in his character, we got a relationship, and from there he got motivation, got his chance, he performed, and from there on he got more belief.”