5 contenders for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award | Premier League 2019-20

#5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has kept great attackers like Raheem Sterling quiet this season

It’s hard to believe now, but some observers scoffed when Manchester United splashed out around £50m to bring in 22-year old right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace during the summer transfer window – but 8 months down the line, it’d be hard to argue that he hasn’t been worth every penny. The Red Devils’ defence has looked far tougher this season, and the presence of the England U-21 international has played a massive part in that.

Wan-Bissaka has appeared in 26 of United’s 29 Premier League games, with only the ever-present David De Gea and Harry Maguire making more starts, and his defensive statistics are simply phenomenal. The former Palace man averages 3.8 successful tackles, 2 successful interceptions and 0.5 successful blocks per game – more than any other player in Solskjaer’s squad, and only Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes – who has only played 5 games thus far – can beat his WhoScored.com average rating of 7.21.

The current campaign has seen him completely shackle tremendous attackers such as Raheem Sterling, Pedro and Diogo Jota, looking impossible to beat for pace at times and seemingly able to put in a clean tackle from any angle.

Like an inversion of Trent Alexander-Arnold, it’s true that Wan-Bissaka’s attacking work could do with some improvement, but recent games have seen him show off some impressive dribbling and he has registered 2 assists. Overall, he’s been a fantastic investment for United – looking like the tremendous kind of young player that the club would’ve signed during the Ferguson era.