Crystal Palace aren't always known for their prolificacy when it comes to producing quality youth players, but this one is an exception. His name is Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Wan-Bissaka only has his breakthrough campaign this season, but his heavily impressive performance has convinced European scouts that he is the right man to pursue.
Until now, several Premier League teams - namely Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Everton are vying for the English-Congolese right-back.
So who exactly is Aaron Wan-Bissaka?
Let us find out in the article below.
Player Profile
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was born on the 26th of November 1997 in London and grew up in the town of Croydon in the southern part of London. He is of Congolese descent.
Wan-Bissaka entered the youth academy of Crystal Palace at age 11 and has featured in every setup of the South London-based club ever since.
The pacey wide man started as a right midfielder who is able to play on the other side as well. He was also usually deployed in a more advanced position. But season 2016/17 saw him regress to a deeper position - usually starting as a wing-back or a full-back.
Young Wan-Bissaka made one appearance for the DR Congo U20 team as a 17-year-old in a friendly international match in 2015, but he remained eligible to represent England at International level and after impressing in his debut, he was called up to the England U20 squad in March 2018.
Wan-Bissaka's talents and potential were never doubted by the club's coaches but his climb towards the top is somewhat slow. But his patience, hard work, and perseverance were rewarded with a full senior debut in Crystal Palace's Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on 25 February 2018 which ended in a 1-0 loss - nevertheless, it was still a solid performance by the youngster.
The 2017/18 season proved to be a breakout season for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
After ending his impressive debut match with an impressive showing, the right-footed player continued with another top-class performance against Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea despite losing both games 2-3 and 2-1 respectively.
He finished the season with 7 matches and around 628 minutes played. He didn't manage to score or create any goals though.
By the next season, Wan-Bissaka has already cemented his place in Roy Hodgson's squad and has delivered splendidly to pay the gaffer back for his trust on him.
He has been ever-present so far as he appeared in 25 games across all competitions this season, collecting 2 assists.
Despite his scintillating performances, Wan-Bissaka has set an unwanted record for himself for being sent off for a professional foul on Mohamed Salah in a PL match against Liverpool. He became the youngest Crystal Place to receive a red card. Despite this, he's still awarded Crystal Palace's player of the month for August for his fine form.
He has also seen red at another moment in his career. He was sent off in his England U20 debut against Poland. But hey, Lionel Messi was also red-carded in his Argentina debut.
Style of Play
Aaron Wan-Bissaka used to be utilised as a midfielder (or as a forward some other times) and he loves to go up regularly throughout a game. His speed, stamina, and defensive discipline are laudable as he runs up and down the pitch, providing spaces and options with his runs and tracking back quickly whenever possession is lost.
The 21-year-old defensive rock loves to dive into tackles and statistically he is excellent at it. According to WhoScored, Aaron Wan-Bissaka tops the table in terms of successful tackles among other U21s and just around top ten out of all in Europe's top five leagues.
His will and determination to get his foot on the ball and win it are quite impressive honestly, but he can get a bit reckless sometimes.
The Crystal Palace starlet also loves to run at opposition defence. Utilising his good ball control, impressive overall speed, and tricks up his sleeve - Wan-Bissaka is a proficient dribbler and can be very dangerous when on the ball.
The 183cm (6ft) tall full back tends to play short passes most of the time.
Player Strengths
Aaron Wan-Bissaka used to play in a more advanced position, but when the gaffer opted to put him in the right-back berth, he just unlocked the England youth international fullback's full potential.
Wan-Bissaka is equally adept in defence and attack, but his defensive prowess is what most people admire.
London-born Wan-Bissaka is a magnificent tackler. He understands the timing and the technique to win a ball and not just clumsily sticking his foot in or sliding towards the opposition.
He also knows where to position himself when defending and is rarely caught out of position.
He reads the game very well and has amazing stats in terms of successful interceptions.
He has a medium height and a lean build and is pretty athletic.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also an outstanding dribbler. He has the pace, the touch, and the technique to beat the opposing defender any time.
The 21-year-old fullback talent is an excellent footballer in overall.
Player Weaknesses
One of Aaron Wan-Bissaka's weakness is clearly distributing the ball. The Crystal Palace right-back is not a very accurate passer and misplaced his passes pretty often - especially long passes.
This explains why Aaron Wan-Bissaka doesn't have many assists to his name despite him being a dangerous attacking threat with his throbbing runs.
Wan-Bissaka needs to improve in holding the ball. The hot prospect lost possession a bit often when challenged by the opposing defender.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is surely a huge talent with a bright future. He seems ready for a big move soon, but staying and getting some much-needed game time can really aid his development hugely.
No comments:
Post a Comment