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Manchester United could be in for a significant upgrade at right-back should they decide to sign Noussair Mazraoui while parting ways with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Yesterday, The Peoples Person relayed claims that Mazraoui informed Bayern Munich that he wishes to leave the club for an Old Trafford move. This comes after United reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the defender over a potential move.
While the club works on a deal to sign Mazraoui, they seem to be intent on allowing Wan-Bissaka to depart. Over the weekend, United reportedly reached a deal with West Ham United for the player. All that’s left is for Wan-Bissaka to give his approval.
Should these deals be concluded, the pressing question would be whether Mazraoui truly would be the upgrade on Wan-Bissaka that United need.
One issue that both players face is that they are injury-prone. While Mazraoui played just 38 Bundesliga matches for Bayern since his arrival in 2022, Wan-Bissaka played just 41 of United’s last 76 league matches.
During the games he did play, Mazraoui committed 1.7 tackles per game, 1.1 interceptions, 1.2 clearances, and 3.3 ball recoveries each match. (Sofascore)
Wan Bissaka’s tackling (1.9), interceptions (1.9), clearances (2.5), and ball recoveries (4.3) exceeded Mazraoui’s figures, making him appear to be far more solid without the ball in defence.
The United player’s physicality also appears to outweigh that of his Bayern counterpart. Wan-Bissaka won 59% of his duels in the Premier League last season, broken down into 62% of his ground duels and 53% of his aerial battles. Mazraoui, in comparison, won 57% of his duels, made up of 62% of his ground duels and 48% of his aerial duels.
The area where Mazraoui emerges stronger is passing, with 90% total accuracy, 92% in his own half, and 86% in the opposition’s half. Wan-Bissaka completed a much lower 83% of his passes, including 85% in his own half and 79% in the opposition’s half. The fact that Mazaouri’s passing in the opposition half was more accurate than Wan-Bissaka’s passing in his own half is a cause for concern for the United player.
Mazraoui managed to make five big chances along with 0.8 key passes per game, exceeding Wan-Bissaka’s one big chance and 0.5 key passes per game.
While defending is the primary role of any full-back, being able to support his teammates on the attack is becoming increasingly necessary, particularly given Erik ten Hag’s style of football at United.
In the attacking department, it’s Mazraoui who emerges as the clear favourite. When comparing his statistics in all competitions to other full-backs in the top five European leagues, the Moroccan proves to be one of the most effective attacking right-backs.
His assists are in the 85th percentile, while his progressive passes of 6.93 per 90 minutes put him in the 96th percentile. What’s more, he lands in the 92nd percentile in goal-creating actions among all full-backs, while his goal-creating actions on a live-ball pass position him in the top 98th percentile, giving him elite status when it comes to attacking full-backs.
As a result, Mazraoui has scored one goal and provided a respectable eight assists during just 55 matches in all competitions for Bayern. Wan-Bissaka has two goals and 13 assists for United, however, these come in 190 matches, making Mazraoui the ore effective attacker.
Wan-Bissaka, on the other hand, has struggled when pushing up in attack. With assists in the 72nd percentile, which is still respectable albeit less than Mazraoui, he has only managed to land in the 60th percentile for goal-creating actions with goal-creating actions on a live-ball pass in the 74th percentile. His progressive passes were in the 60th percentile as well.
Where Mazraoui completely outperforms Wan-Bissaka is in shot-creating actions, landing in the 77th percentile compared to Wan-Bissaka’s measly ninth percentile finish.
Although the Premier League may be more competitive than the Bundesliga, it’s apparent that Wan-Bissaka is not as well-rounded a player as Mazraoui.
While dominant in defence, being a strong right-back off the ball is not enough in the modern game. Ultimately, Mazraoui emerges as a more versatile option for United, with superior passing, assists, and chance creation to his English counterpart.
Ultimately, if United wish to focus on defence, then keeping Wan-Bissaka and abandoning their pursuit of Mazraoui emerges as the obvious choice. If attacking qualities are of high importance, however, then making the switch could work in United’s favour.
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