OPPOSITION WINGERS are not the only players to have been thwarted by Aaron Wan-Bissaka this season, with the Manchester United full-back revealing he has yet to be beaten in training either.
The 22-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace in June for a reported £50million and has impressed for his new club, starting all but two of their Premier League games.
Only Leicester City duo Wilfred Ndidi and Ricardo Pereira have made more tackles than Wan-Bissaka in the English top flight this term and the right-back has proven to be equally adept at defending in training.
Ex-United midfielder Darren Fletcher recently suggested not one player in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad had managed to beat Wan-Bissaka since he joined.
Asked whether that was true, Wan-Bissaka told the Daily Mail: “I would say so yeah, from what I can remember.
I can see the frustration but with them I can also see that they are not giving up. They still want to keep trying until they do and that’s the thing that gets me going, team-mates testing me. It helps me.”
One of Wan-Bissaka’s standout performances this term came in the 2-1 win at Manchester City earlier this month when he helped keep Raheem Sterling quiet.
“I knew it was going to be a long game. He is one of the best wingers in the Premier League and I knew I had to step up my game,” Wan-Bissaka added.
“It’s a good feeling [doing well against Sterling], especially a player like him with his ability. It took real concentration because he can go in or out and has got pace.
He’s probably faster than me so that was a game I had to really focus on and actually go hard at it.
“Was that the toughest battle of my career? Yes, but since my debut with Crystal Palace no winger is going to be easy.”
Wan-Bissaka won his first England call-up earlier this year but was forced to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s squad through injury.
With the Three Lions blessed with an abundance of talent at that position – including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker - Wan-Bissaka knows he needs to do more going forward if he is to become an international regular.
“United have more of the ball, I’ll be getting more of the ball [than at Palace], so on the ball will have to change, improve,” added Wan-Bissaka, who produced his first United assist in the Boxing Day win over Newcastle United.
“Joining in the counter attacks, because we have a lot of them, overlapping more, things like that.
“That’s why I came to this team because I thought they could improve me as a player.”
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