West Ham United investigate root of Aaron Wan-Bissaka woes at Manchester United amid possible deal
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a West Ham target to take seriously as the club investigate the reason for his issues at Manchester United, says Dean Jones.
The right-back cost £45million up front from Crystal Palace three and a half years ago, but has seen his star fall at Old Trafford to the point where he has played just four minutes of senior football this season.
Fabrizio Romano told the Here We Go podcast on Monday (19 December) that the Hammers were one of three teams speaking to the Manchester side over a loan deal, but his regression is a hurdle they are looking to get to the bottom of first according to former Eurosport journalist Jones.
He told GIVEMESPORT (20 December): “I think the Wan-Bissaka link is probably the one to take most seriously. But obviously, West Ham at the moment have been trying to explore exactly what has gone so wrong for him.
“They want to make sure that he is still the player that they remember him to be and that there are no other issues here.”
Red flags
Wan-Bissaka certainly hasn’t justified his transfer fee since he left Selhurst Park but that doesn’t mean that he has immediately become a bad player.
A year ago he started the first 13 Premier League games of the season, but the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his standing at the club fall in a big way.
But Vladimir Coufal also appeared to be ensconced as the long-term starter in the West Ham side 12 months ago, so it is clear that plenty can change in that space of time.
If Wan-Bissaka just needs a new environment then the London Stadium seems like a good place to find one from the player’s point of view, but the club need to be sure that there isn’t a deeper reason for him to be buried down the pecking order these days.
Questions should be asked over his suitability going forward as well, since that has often been seen as one of the larger deficiencies in his game in Manchester.
Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Emerson are all heavily involved in the attacking phases of the game under David Moyes, so there is an argument to suggest the Englishman’s style doesn’t fit with the Irons.
A loan makes a lot of sense to get a close up look at him for the second half of the season, but given what they paid for him Erik ten Hag’s side are likely to want a fairly hefty fee to sell him, and West Ham need to be sure he is worth the investment before they part with their millions.
Moyes is looking for more help in January despite spending heavily in the summer, but at this stage it is Wan-Bissaka’s name more than his recent output that draws the attention most.