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Michael Owen has questioned West Ham United’s decision to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United this summer.
Wan-Bissaka, who made 190 appearances for United after moving from Crystal Palace in 2019, was let go by the Red Devils this summer in a deal reported to be worth around £15 million.
During his time at Old Trafford, the Englishman established himself as one of the best one-against-one defensive full-backs in the Premier League.
Most recently, Wan-Bissaka earned plenty of plaudits for his resilient defending against Jérémy Doku in United’s FA Cup triumph over Manchester City at Wembley in May.
However, the 26-year-old’s contribution in possession often divided opinion, and his exit received a mixed reaction from the United faithful.
Now, the Hammers have been hammered for misprofiling their new right-back.
After West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea over the weekend, Owen insisted Wan-Bissaka is not suited to the style of play Julen Lopetegui is attempting to implement.
The former Liverpool striker told Premier League Productions (via TeamTalk): “If you’re West Ham, if you’re the manager, the recruitment officer, whoever you are at West Ham, and you’re wanting a full-back to play in this, the last person you go and buy is Wan-Bissaka.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s brilliant, he’s probably the best right-back in terms of defensively in the country in the Premier League. But if you’re going to ask somebody to get up wide and high and come inside and play central, I don’t know why you’d get Wan-Bissaka.
“That’s not his game – his game is plugging the gaps, he’s not letting anything past, he’s a brilliant defender, he’s not brilliant going forward.”
To replace Wan-Bissaka, United brought in Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window.
Fortunately for Erik ten Hag, his ex-Ajax man has so far shown he is an ideal full-back for his tactics, having impressed with his technical security in possession and awareness to move in the middle of the park in transition to defend counter-attacks.
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