A lack of width is a key reason why United have been unable to break teams down this season.
This has gone on for far too long, the club have not been taking enough chances with attacking players in the transfer market and this coming summer is time to change that.
Amid a desire from the club to sign ‘high quality’ additions, one signing the club made last summer could play a key role.
£50 million addition Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be an asset for United in trying to convince a top right winger to join.
Wan-Bissaka is arguably the best defensive right-back in the Premier League. He is averaging four tackles and two interceptions per game.
Having this type of quality at right-back makes the job of a right winger a lot easier.
Sign a relentless attacker
Wan-Bisssaka gives United freedom to sign a relentlessly focused attacking player.
A player like Adama Traore of Wolves comes to mind. He is a constant menace for defenders to go up against and with Wan-Bissaka behind him, you could just tell him to attack and not worry about the bulk of the defensive work.
The best wingers can be flair players. Tricky, unpredictable, and creative, but not always the most willing to dig in and do the dirty work defensively.
Normally this would be a problem, but Wan-Bissaka’s qualities negate these concerns.
It means United can focus on signing an elite winger whose sole job is to break defences down.
They will obviously be expected to do the bare minimum defensively, but it won’t be a principle concern. Sign a winger, and let him attack and destroy teams.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer previously described Dan James as ‘probably the best defensive winger in the world with his honesty, commitment and the way he does his recovery runs and doing his back tackles’. [ESPN].
While good to have a player like James in the squad, United need far, far more from an attacking output.
Whether this be Jadon Sancho, or even the aforementioned Traore, United need a player who will just run at defence for 90 minutes and put them on the backfoot.
Wan-Bissaka is the first piece of the puzzle in doing that. He can allow United’s chosen winger who will hopefully be signed in the summer, to flourish.
And working in partnership with that potential new signing, Wan-Bissaka may become appreciated a bit more too, compared to now, when he is effectively having to double up as a right-back and also become United’s principle attacking option from the right.
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