Despite it only being June, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans for next season are already in full flow as Manchester United close in on their second summer signing - Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The defender has generated a lot of interest this season after an array of standout displays. In his first full senior year, the young defender established himself as a key player for Palace.
With an ageing Ashley Young currently United’s most relied upon right-sided full-back, Wan-Bissaka is expected to slot straight into the United starting line-up
What has been clear since Solskjaer's arrival at the club is that he likes to build his attacks through his wing-back positions, usually relying on the likes of Luke Shaw on the left or Young on right to commence these attacks.
Yet last season, United preferred to build down their left-side utilising the more offensively impressive Shaw rather than Young.
That created an unbalance in their attacks and made them more predictable for the opposition to exploit.
The arrival of Wan-Bissaka will bring more balance to that United attack. Indeed his underlying numbers support this argument.
Last season in the league, he averaged 3.19 successful dribbles per 90 minutes. That bettered any right-back in the United squad and ranked him second overall in this department in terms of Premier League right-backs who have played over 1,000 league minutes.
Although he averages fewer forward passes than the likes of Young , perhaps due to the quality of playing personnel around him, he can boast a better accuracy rate in those passes with a success rate of 73 per cent. Again for comparison, Young’s success rate in those forward passes is just 67.7 per cent.
All of this has accumulated in him registering an average of 3.24 final third passes per 90 minutes and three assists over the season, which is more than competent in his full debut campaign.
What impresses most though is the fact he is just as strong defensively as he is in attack. Last season he averaged 0.40 blocked shots per 90 minutes, boasted a success rate of nearly 50% in his aerial duels and averages 6.68 interceptions per 90 minutes.
A snapshot of his prowess in defence is demonstrated in the below sequence taken from Burnley v Crystal Palace earlier this season.
A tricky ball is lofted forward and headed away well by Wan-Bissaka.
The headed ball lands into the path of a Burnley attacker.
Wan-Bissaka tracks the attacker who picks up the second ball, cutting out any option to cut in and have a shot and instead ushering him wide towards the corner flag.
After shepherding the attacker towards the corner flag, he puts in a superbly timed challenge to clear the ball out for a throw in.
When all put together, his ability to read the game well and intercept the ball makes him so dangerous for the opposition to deal with. The ease in which he transitions his team from a defensive moment into a prompt counter-attacking one justifies his label as a perfect modern-day wing-back.
As United look to close the gap on those above them this summer, Wan-Bissaka could well prove a very wise investment.
