Wan-Bissaka and Rice are Born to Play for Manchester United

Both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Declan Rice are young English players full of quality, and they both look bred to don the Manchester United red.

When Manchester United took on West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, one player in particular stood out above the rest – and it wasn’t World Cup-winner Paul Pogba or star goalkeeper David De Gea. It was West Ham’s Declan Rice, who played at the base of midfield for the Hammers and completely bossed the midfield throughout the match. When Rice performs like this, which is quite often this season, you tend to see a classic English player in him, reminding you almost of a 2000’s-era player. He’s gritty  – far more tenacious than most of the young midfielders being developed in the world right now, and he’s also an excellent reader of the game and is able to perform many different roles and tasks in the center of the park.

In fact, Declan Rice went from being a prospect, to a full England international in the span of this season alone. Manchester United have had plenty of trouble finding the right blend and balance in their midfield for a few years now, and Declan Rice is the exact type of player the club should be looking at to build their future around. Rice is a focal-point, a leader, an anchor, and is already proven in a difficult position in one of the world’s best leagues at just 20.

Luckily for Manchester United and their fans, it seems that the club is indeed interested in Rice and is looking to bid for him this summer. It’s good that they’ve also noticed that he’s got “Manchester United” written all over him. It looks like any successful bid for the midfielder will have to be more than £50 million, which is a hefty fee, but one that might be seen as a bargain down the line.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Crystal Palace is another player who seems to be born and bred for Old Trafford.

The full-backs of Manchester United’s past have all been astute defensively and important in the dressing room, and Wan-Bissaka is someone who certainly fits that description. The youngster leads by example from the right-back position, and has won more tackles than anyone else in Europe’s top 5 leagues – a massive achievement, especially with a bottom-half club like Crystal Palace.

Although United already possess an excellent right-back talent in Diogo Dalot, Ashley Young continues to feature regularly in the position and seems incapable of being effective lately. Since Young is now well into his 30’s with his career winding down, having a Wan-Bissaka/Dalot double-whammy at right-back could set Manchester United up well for the next decade in the position.

At the end of the day, Manchester United aren’t nearly as good a team as they should be, or even as they want to be. They have wasted plenty of transfer fees on uninspiring players in recent years, and it’s time for them to start investing in top English talent once again – the way they used to under Ferguson. Both Declan Rice and Aaron Wan-Bissaka represent 2 of the headline performers of England’s up-and-coming concert of football talent, and Manchester United would do well to sign both of them up before it’s too late.