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Erik ten Hag has recently spoken about needing new signings in several positions. The Dutchman is also, reportedly, happy with both Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but his strong interest in players like Jeremy Frimpong, suggests that if he had all the resources to bring in the players he wanted, he might look to upgrade one of the pair – either now or in the future.
Diogo Dalot has just been handed a new long-term contract, which reasonably rules him out. That would leave Wan-Bissaka as the likely sacrifice.
In the most ideal scenario, United would be able to bring in genuine world-beaters in every position that needs reinforcement this season – and there are quite a few of these.
To fill the vacant positions with top-quality talent, however, the club will need to have a healthy transfer budget. Much healthier than the reported £100m – £150 million that is available for incoming transfers this summer.
It is known that Erik ten Hag prefers fullbacks who offer enough quality on the ball to play the inverted fullback position – tucking into midfield to create overloads when United have the ball.
Wan-Bissaka may not excel at the aspects of football needed to achieve this, such as having a decent passing range; however, Diogo Dalot does seem to.
This season Wan-Bissaka’s Portuguese rival contributed 19 accurate passes in his own half, and 18.3 in the opposition’s half, compared with his 14.9 and 16.3 respectively. (Stats vis Sofascore).
If Dalot is able to step up and deliver the sort of performances that saw him become a guaranteed starter at the beginning of the season, then acquiring an upgrade at right-back should no longer be a priority for United, even beyond this season.
Where would that then leave Wan-Bissaka? While he has some obvious deficiencies, he has not been a laggard by any means.
Aaron has had an excellent season where he eventually kept Dalot out of the team, despite Dalot being the better fit for Erik ten Hag’s style in theory.
Across a lengthy season where United will look to compete in four separate competitions, the squad will need to have reliable depth.
Coming off the back of a season where he has been imperious at the back, and much improved going forward, Wan-Bissaka can still play a valuable role in the squad.
And even if neither he nor Dalot eventually proves able to deliver exactly what Ten Hag has in mind, they both offer an acceptable minimum level of contribution, which makes right back a position that can be ignored for now.
If the right offer comes, however, no player is irreplaceable.
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