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Manchester United faced an acute full-back shortage during the early part of the season following long-term injuries to both Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.
Both were sidelined till November and Erik ten Hag was forced to play Diogo Dalot on the left while bringing in Sergio Reguilon on loan on deadline day.
The Spaniard has since left but amid Shaw’s continued fitness issues, the Dutchman even opted to use the former Crystal Palace star on the left against Tottenham in yet another bizarre selection call.
Wan-Bissaka’s future is yet to be resolved despite multiple reports stating United were keen to award the 26-year-old with a brand new long-term deal after winning his place back in the team last season.
AWB’s future hangs in the balance
After being frozen out of the team in the first half of Ten Hag’s debut campaign, the former Eagles star roared back in the second half to reclaim his first-team status.
He has started 13 games this season, including four in a row in the Premier League with the club triggering the option of extending his current deal by a year.
But that has not seen rumours linking him with an exit go away with The Peoples Person recently covering a report which stated United were open to a swap deal with the player’s former club with Michael Olise coming to Manchester.
Now, ESPN have claimed that United only triggered the one-year extension till 2025 to preserve the player’s value and the plan is to sell him in the summer.
“Sources have said that Liverpool and Chelsea are also interested in Olise, who spent time at Manchester City as a youngster, but United’s readiness to part with Wan-Bissaka as part of a deal could prove persuasive to Palace, who offloaded the right-back to United in a £50 million ($64m) transfer in 2019.
New contract just to protect value
“United triggered a 12-month contract extension on Wan-Bissaka’s deal last month to avoid the player leaving as a free agent this summer, but ESPN sources have said that decision was taken purely to enable the club to raise funds by offloading him this summer.”
The right-back has improved going forward, as seen from his two assists this season but it might not be enough to convince Ten Hag to keep him around for longer.
Dalot already has two goals to his name this term while he also signed a new long-term deal last year. Jeremie Frimpong has been a name frequently linked with a move to Old Trafford.
It will be interesting to see if United sanction the exit of their best defensive full-back in search of a more attack-minded player.
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