Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been very keen to make Aaron Wan-Bissaka Manchester United’s right-back, the Norwegian the main driver in pushing the deal through to sign him from Crystal Palace.

Away from negotiations, United’s manager put forward the view that when he played at Old Trafford, right-back Gary Neville was forever making forward runs, even if he didn’t have the ball. Solskjaer felt that Neville always provided an outlet and he wants the same for his team. One of the changes he made when he took over, and one appreciated by the players, was to push his fullbacks further forward.

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United feel that the deal for Wan-Bissaka is all but done. There’s to be one more London meeting scheduled to iron out the creases, but wages have been agreed, as has the fee. The Croydon lad wanted to join United and at £47 million, plus add ons to make it £55m, he will become one of the most expensive fullbacks in world football. United took their time to bid before a first offer of £40m. Palace chairman Steve Parish, who had long enjoyed a good relationship with United’s leading executive Ed Woodward, was under pressure to take the £40m from the club’s varied investors, but he correctly felt that he could get more money. United were prepared to pay big, but not the £70m reported that would make him one of the most costly defenders on the planet. There’s a premium on British talent. Being a Premier League club means Palace aren’t desperate to sell, but they’re right on the edge of the Financial Fair Play limits and they have a vast new – and much needed – main stand to fund.

While meetings between Palace and United continued, Wan-Bissaka’s wages will rise seven-fold to £80,000 per week. United will offset some of the cost by selling Matteo Darmian, who has several Italian suitors. Diogo Dalot, another right-back, is expected to stay and continue his own progress.

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Wam-Bissaka is currently playing for England under-21s in the European championships in Italy. He scored an own goal in Tuesday’s opening defeat to France and didn’t look comfortable. It’s no big deal since he’s adapted to the far faster pace of the Premier League.

He’s also unfazed by all the fuss around his transfer. It’s a quality that Roy Hodgson spotted when he had the conviction to promote him from Crystal Palace’s reserve team to the first team. Wan-Bissaka, a quiet lad with a steady girlfriend who, in contrast to some of those he shared a dressing room with, is anything but flash, was at ease training in his first session with the first team. Watching that gave the experienced Hodgson the belief that he was ready to play in the Premier League. He called it right.

United’s second signing of the summer, Wan-Bissaka is another young British wide player like Dan James, who has joined from Swansea City. It will help both that experienced performers such as Juan Mata will be in that dressing room. Mata, after several one-on-one meetings with Woodward, including one immediately after the final home game of the season, has signed a new two-year deal to stay where he’s loved in Manchester. The club like the idea of him staying beyond that – though not necessarily as a player. Mata boasts impeccable personal values, a rare gem in the midden of the football industry. Nobody expects the Spaniard to be playing every week, but he’s versatile and could easily end up playing on the right with Wan-Bissaka.

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So what kind of player will United get with their new fullback? I’ve spoken to several people in professional football who watch him very regularly. The feedback is that the 21-year-old is one of the best players in Europe in one-on-one situations. He seldom gets beaten and even if he does he has two or three yards of explosive pace to make a recovery. He has quick feet, he reads movement in front of him well and coaches think he gets down the pitch quickly. He’s built to be a top fullback, with one person who knows him very well describing him as “like a top 400-metre runner. Watch him excel in games against the top six. Players can’t get past him.”

A quiet and a very pleasant person, he is someone who wants to learn, to keep improving. José Mourinho was very impressed with how well he played against United in the first half of the game at Selhurst Park in March 2018, but he’s far from the finished article. His decision-making needs work, his crossing too, but he’s an excellent defender and one, unlike Timothy Fosu-Mensah (the United right-back he partly ousted from the Palace team) he takes instruction and acts well on it.

United fans need to support him and not jump on his every mistake as he settles in on a far bigger stage. Fans at matches do tend to be far more supportive than online so he has little to worry about there.

United need an accomplished right-back. It’s a vital position and Wan-Bissaka is the second best English right-back after Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. The signing will be greeted by United fans keen for new faces and talent. They hope it’s not the last of the new arrivals – nor departures – from a squad that failed badly last season.

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