Manchester Untied’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Return to Crystal Palace

Manchester United defender, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, has been linked with a return to his former club Crystal Palace.

According to the Daily Telegraph:

"United hope to sell or loan out Aaron Wan-Bissaka with Crystal Palace, the defender’s former club, emerging as a possibility to sign him.It is believed Palace may be willing to pay £10 million for the 24-year-old, which would represent a huge and embarrassing loss to United who signed him for £50 million in 2019 on a five-year deal.However, Wan-Bissaka does not feature in (Eric) Ten Hag’s plans and a loan deal might be another option as he attempts to relaunch his career.Ten Hag has told United he wants another right-back to compete with Diogo Dalot, who has started the season in the team."

Is it time for Wan-Bissaka to give up on Man United?

Since joining United, Wan-Bissaka has made a total of 126 appearances for the club with two goals and 10 assists. However, he has been left on the bench for United’s first two games of the Premier League season, which have both ended in humiliating defeats for the Red Devils at the hand of Brighton and Brentford, respectively.

Wan-Bissaka has not won a trophy in his time at United. The closest he came was a runners-up medal in the 2021 Europa League where his side lost in the final to Villarreal. The right-back starred in the competition and earned a place in the competition’s Squad of the Season.

The Red Devils are in a mess at the moment and with Wan-Bissaka not playing it must be the time to move on.

What Can He Learn From Wilfred Zaha?

A return to Palace is reminiscent of Zaha’s return to the club after failing to make the grade at Old Trafford. Zaha only managed four appearances for United before rejoining the Eagles permanently in 2015 and has gone on to star for them, in a total of 432 games he has scored 84 goals and made 73 assists.

Zaha’s form at Selhurst Park has meant he has often been linked with clubs further up the table but so far he has stayed at the London club. Wan-Bissaka can look at Zaha and see that he can still make a name for himself back at Palace just like Wilfred Zaha did.

The similarities between the two players do not end at the club level. They are both of mixed nationalities. Zaha made two appearances for England before committing to the Ivory Coast in 2017 and so far has played 28 times for the Elephants and found the back of the net five times.

Wan-Bissaka’s international career is so far in the mix. He is yet to get a cap for the England senior team but was called up in 2019 but had to withdraw through injury. He has played three times for the Three Lions’ u21 side and is also eligible for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has represented their u20s side.

The World Cup is just around the corner and although he will have tough competition to get back into Gareth Southgate’s squad, his chances will be vastly improved if he joins Patrick Viera’s side and manages to get sufficient game time.