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Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Wan-Bissaka warming up for West Ham United in 2024
Personal information
Full name Aaron Wan-Bissaka[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-26) 26 November 1997 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Croydon, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 29
Youth career
Junior Elite
2009–2017 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Crystal Palace 42 (0)
2019–2024 Manchester United 130 (2)
2024– West Ham United 8 (0)
International career
2015 DR Congo U20 1 (0)
2018 England U20 2 (0)
2018–2019 England U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:09, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (born 26 November 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club West Ham United.

An academy graduate of hometown club Crystal Palace, Wan-Bissaka made his senior debut in 2018, and quickly rose to prominence, being named the club's Player of the Year in his only full season. In 2019, he moved to Manchester United for £50 million, winning an EFL Cup and FA Cup with the club before departing for West Ham in 2024.

He is of Congolese descent and made one appearance for DR Congo under-20s in 2015. He has gone on to represent the country of his birth, England, at under-20 and under-21 levels.

Early life

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Wan-Bissaka was born in Croydon, Greater London[4] and grew up in New Addington, Croydon, where he attended Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School.[5]

Club career

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Crystal Palace

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Wan-Bissaka playing for Crystal Palace in 2018

Wan-Bissaka was a member of the Crystal Palace academy from the age of 11,[6] where he started out as a winger.[5] He signed a professional contract with the club in December 2016.[7]

On the 2017 pre-season tour, Wan-Bissaka began to feature with the Palace first team under new manager Frank de Boer, playing in a number of friendlies. The Dutchman played a formation with wing-backs, and this new role emphasised Wan-Bissaka's defensive capabilities, eventually leading to him moving from a winger to a full-back.[8] However, he saw chances limited in the first half of the season as De Boer showed a preference to play Timothy Fosu-Mensah or Martin Kelly at right-back, then new manager Roy Hodgson favoured Joel Ward. He was an unused substitute a few times under the new manager, while also starring for the Eagles U23 side.[9][10][11]

On 25 February 2018, Wan-Bissaka made his first-team debut for Crystal Palace, in the midst of an injury crisis, in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park which resulted in a 1–0 defeat.[5][12][13] He played all but two minutes of the four Palace matches in March, and won the club's Player of the Month award with 65% of the supporters' votes.[14]

On 20 August 2018, Wan-Bissaka was sent off in a 2–0 loss to Liverpool for denying Mohamed Salah a clear goalscoring opportunity.[15] He was named the club's Player of the Month for August, September, October and March.[16] On 7 April 2019, he extended his contract with the club until 2022.[7] Later that month, he was named Crystal Palace Player of the Year for his displays throughout the season.[17]

Manchester United

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On 29 June 2019, Wan-Bissaka signed a five-year contract with fellow Premier League club Manchester United. Crystal Palace would receive an initial fee of £45 million, with another £5 million due in potential bonuses.[18] Upon signing for Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka became the sixth-most expensive defender of all time and the most expensive English player who was uncapped by the national side at the time of transfer.[19][20]

He made his debut for the club on 11 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 league victory over Chelsea.[21] At the end of his first season at Manchester United, he made the highest number of tackles in the 2019–20 Premier League season.[22] On 17 October 2020, as United won 4–1 at Newcastle United, he scored the first goal of his professional career.[23] On 2 February 2021, he scored the opening goal in United's Premier League record-equalling 9–0 win over Southampton.[24]

Wan-Bissaka missed a significant part of the first half of the 2022–23 season due to illnesses or injuries,[25][26] with Diogo Dalot starting at right-back in the majority of United's games.[27][28] He returned to the pitch after the World Cup break in impressive form, with manager Erik ten Hag praising his improvements.[28][29]

West Ham United

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On 13 August 2024, West Ham United announced the signing of Wan-Bissaka on a seven-year contract for a reported fee of £15 million.[30][31]

International career

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Wan-Bissaka was born in England and is of Congolese descent.[32] Wan-Bissaka made a single appearance for DR Congo U20s in an 8–0 friendly loss to the England U17s on 7 October 2015.[33] However, he remained eligible to represent the country of his birth and, after impressing for Crystal Palace, Wan-Bissaka was called up to the England under-20 squad in March 2018.[34] He was sent off during his debut against Poland, although England still won 1–0.[35]

Wan-Bissaka was called up to the England U21 squad for the first time in September 2018 and made his debut for them on 6 September, playing 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with the Netherlands at Carrow Road.[36] On 27 May 2019, Wan-Bissaka was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[37] He made one appearance in the tournament, a 2–1 loss against France, in which he scored an own goal.[38]

In August 2019, Wan-Bissaka received his first call-up to the senior England team, ahead of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kosovo and Bulgaria, but was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a back injury.[39][40] Since the withdrawal, competition with the likes of Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Reece James at right-back meant that Wan-Bissaka is yet to make an appearance for the side.

Though in May 2019 he asserted his intention to pursue an international career with England, stating "the aim is England. I am happy playing with England and representing England, so that is what I am going to continue doing", he has since expressed interest in representing his ancestral DR Congo at senior level.[41] Media speculation has also supported the claim of his potential nationality switch, even though he has not done so by 2024.[42][43]

Style of play

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Wan-Bissaka is primarily a defensively minded right-back, known for his pace, slide tackling and ability in one-on-one defensive duels.[44][45] He was described as the "best one-on-one defender for a full-back in the world" by Jamie Carragher in 2020.[46] In the 2019–20 Premier League season Wan-Bissaka made the joint-highest number of tackles, level with Wilfred Ndidi on 129.[47]

Personal life

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In December 2021, Wan-Bissaka was given a six-month driving ban and a £31,500 fine by Leeds Magistrates Court for driving while disqualified and uninsured, and for not giving driver details about two speeding offences. His lawyers said that he was unaware of his offending, as he had not registered his new address with the DVLA.[48]

Career statistics

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As of match played 27 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crystal Palace 2016–17[49] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2017–18[50] Premier League 7 0 0 0 0 0 — 7 0
2018–19[51] Premier League 35 0 1 0 3 0 — 39 0
Total 42 0 1 0 3 0 — 46 0
Manchester United 2019–20[52] Premier League 35 0 2 0 4 0 5[a] 0 46 0
2020–21[53] Premier League 34 2 3 0 2 0 15[b] 0 54 2
2021–22[54] Premier League 20 0 0 0 0 0 6[c] 0 26 0
2022–23[55] Premier League 19 0 4 0 5 0 6[a] 0 34 0
2023–24[56] Premier League 22 0 4 0 1 0 3[c] 0 30 0
Total 130 2 13 0 12 0 35 0 190 2
West Ham United 2024–25[57] Premier League 8 0 0 0 1 0 — 9 0
Career total 180 2 14 0 16 0 35 0 245 2
  1. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

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Manchester United

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/04/2018 and 30/04/2018". The Football Association. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ "A. Wan-Bissaka: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Fifield, Dominic (8 February 2019). "The rise of Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 'A lot of the time I can't get my head around it'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Wan-Bissaka Delighted To Debut". Crystal Palace F.C. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  7. ^ a b Duthie, Shona (7 April 2019). "Crystal Palace's Aaron Wan-Bissaka signs extended deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: My year in the Crystal Palace first team". Sky Sports. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Report: Leicester City 0–3 Crystal Palace". Crystal Palace F.C. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  10. ^ Dean, Sam; Tyers, Alan (8 January 2018). "Brighton 2 Crystal Palace 1: VAR available, but not used, as Glenn Murray seals FA Cup third round tie". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  11. ^ "U23s Report: Crystal Palace 4–0 Colchester United". Crystal Palace F.C. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Wan-Bissaka Makes Eagles Debut". Crystal Palace F.C. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  13. ^ Mullen, Andrew (25 February 2018). "Crystal Palace 0–1 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Wan-Bissaka Wins March's ManBetX Player of the Month". Crystal Palace F.C. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  15. ^ Begley, Emlyn (20 August 2018). "Crystal Palace 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka Wins ManBetX Player of the Month". Crystal Palace F.C. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Aaron Wan-Bissaka named Palace Player of the Season 2018/19". Crystal Palace F.C. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  18. ^ Ornstein, David (29 June 2019). "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Man Utd sign Crystal Palace defender in £50m deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  19. ^ Poole, Harry (28 June 2019). "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: The rapid rise of Man Utd's new £50m right-back". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  20. ^ Watson, Ian (29 June 2019). "The 12 most expensive uncapped English players". Football365. Ole Media Group. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  21. ^ Smyth, Rob (11 August 2019). "Manchester United 4–0 Chelsea". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  22. ^ "2019-2020 Premier League Defensive Action Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  23. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (17 October 2020). "Newcastle 1-4 Man Utd: Visitors produce late flourish to earn welcome win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  24. ^ Stone, Simon (2 February 2021). "Manchester United 9–0 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  25. ^ Brown, Dan (11 February 2023). "Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag issues Aaron Wan-Bissaka update". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  26. ^ Fay, Richard (21 October 2022). "Erik ten Hag issues update on Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Man United". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  27. ^ Luckhurst, Samuel (1 September 2022). "Man United manager Ten Hag sends message to Wan-Bissaka amid Diogo Dalot form". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  28. ^ a b Hill, Courtney (19 February 2023). "Ten Hag lauds Wan-Bissaka's impact". Manchester United F.C. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  29. ^ Pilger, Sam (20 January 2023). "Aaron Wan-Bissaka Has Been Reborn At Manchester United". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  30. ^ "West Ham United complete signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka". West Ham United F.C. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  31. ^ "West Ham complete deal for Wan-Bissaka". Sky Sports. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  32. ^ "Aaron Bissaka: Jouer pour la RDC" (in French). Footeo. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  33. ^ Stonehouse, Gary (7 October 2015). "England U17s hit eight in World Cup warm-up with DR Congo". The Football Association. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  34. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (15 March 2018). "P's please, Keith". The Football Association. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  35. ^ "Poland 0–1 England U20s". The Football Association. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  36. ^ "Wan-Bissaka Wins First Under 21 Cap in Netherlands Draw". Crystal Palace F.C. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  37. ^ "England U21s squad named by Aidy Boothroyd for this summer's Euro finals in Italy". The Football Association. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  38. ^ Hunter, Andy (18 June 2019). "England's Wan-Bissaka gifts France win at U-21 Euros despite penalty misses". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka & Tyrone Mings earn England call-ups for Euro 2020 qualifiers". BBC Sport. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Euro 2020 qualifiers: Aaron Wan-Bissaka out of England squad with back injury". BBC Sport. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  41. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka will reject DR Congo interest as Crystal Palace starlet targets England call-up".
  42. ^ "Hodgson offers Wan-Bissaka advice over reports he will play for DR Congo over England". talkSPORT. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  43. ^ "United's Wan-Bissaka may have no choice but to switch international allegiance". United In Focus. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  44. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: The Manchester United new boy's rise told by Crystal Palace coaches who made him". independent.co.uk. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  45. ^ "Position change could turn around Aaron Wan-Bissaka's Manchester United career". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  46. ^ "Jamie Carragher praises Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka as 'best one-on-one full-back in the world'". independent.co.uk. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  47. ^ "Ranked: Most tackles in the Premier League 2019/20 season". squawka.com. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  48. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Man Utd defender given six-month driving ban". BBC News. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  49. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  50. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  51. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  52. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  53. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  54. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  55. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  56. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  57. ^ "Games played by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  58. ^ "Manchester City 1–2 Manchester United: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  59. ^ McNulty, Phil (3 June 2023). "Manchester City 2–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  60. ^ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2023). "Manchester United 2–0 Newcastle United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  61. ^ Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  62. ^ "Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been named as Crystal Palace's Young Player of the Season for 2017/18". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  63. ^ "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season 2020/21". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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