Manchester United football director John Murtough stepped in to convince Erik ten Hag to persevere with Aaron Wan-Bissaka - but that will not prevent the Dutchman from pressing ahead with plans to sign a new right-back in the New Year.
Although Wan-Bissaka impressed initially following his £50million move from Crystal Palace back in 2019, the 24-year-old has regressed over the past 12 months and has lost his first-team spot to the previously-unfancied Diogo Dalot under Ten Hag.
Upon his arrival in the summer, Ten Hag was given the freedom to overhaul a squad that had just limped to United's worst-ever finish in the Premier League era. And despite a slow start in the market, United managed to spend in excess of £200m before the September 1 deadline to bring in six new faces.
Ten Hag was unable, however, to acquire a new full-back to compete with Dalot. That allowed Murtough to persuade the new United manager to shelve plans to offload Wan-Bissaka - but the full-back's reprieve is likely to be short-lived.
According to Sport, via Sport Witness, Manchester United are planning to rekindle their interest in AS Monaco right-back Vanderson - a player they tried to acquire in the summer.
The 21-year-old, who was also courted by Barcelona, was thought to be unattainable after penning a new five-year deal with the French giants last month. However, the report claims it has been 'decided' that this season will be Vanderson's second and 'final' year in France.
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That development has alerted a host of Premier League sides, including United, who have ‘already begun to move to try to tie up’ a future deal for the highly-rated full-back, who only made the switch to Ligue 1 back in January.
Manchester United's stance on Vanderson is yet another indication that Wan-Bissaka's future at Old Trafford is bleak under Ten Hag.
The former Ajax boss has preferred Dalot in the opening weeks of the season and has even deployed Tyrell Malacia and Victor Lindelof in Wan-Bissaka's position ahead of the former Palace man.
Ten Hag was believed to be pursuing a deal for Barcelona's Sergino Dest in the final weeks of the transfer window. But the 21-year-old, who eventually joined AC Milan on loan, was only likely to move to Old Trafford if the club could find a taker for Wan-Bissaka.
Palace were open to re-signing their former academy graduate in a cut-price £10m deal before Murtough's intervention, coupled with a lack of options in the market, prompted Ten Hag to hand Wan-Bissaka a reprieve.
