Roy Hodgson digressed at one point, turning to opera to conjure an analogy that referenced the celebrated tenors Jussi Björling and Enrico Caruso, but the tone of his message remained clear. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a player of immense potential, a full international in waiting, and is missed at Crystal Palace. Manchester United, who will field the right-back against his former club on Saturday, have prised away a gem from south London.
All the staggering statistics that marked out the best tackling defender in the top flight while Wan-Bissaka was at Palace have been maintained through his early days at Old Trafford. No one summoned more than his 15 tackles from the opening two games, and, in a team who will enjoy more possession, there have been hints that his attacking game is developing at pace. What had first marked out the defender when he was summoned across Copers Cope Road from the academy to make up the numbers had been an ability to choke Wilfried Zaha in one-on-one duels. The revisiting of that training tête-à-tête will provide an intriguing subplot.
Zaha, who had been just as eager to depart Selhurst Park over the summer, was once on United’s books himself and waved his friend away with advice to “play without fear, just like last season”. That had been Wan‑Bissaka’s first full senior campaign. “We thought we were talking about a potential England international right-back,” Hodgson said. “Gareth Southgate has got a lot of competition in that place, but that’s how I see Aaron developing. The way he’s settled in [at United] has been very nice to see. It doesn’t surprise me because I know how well he can do, but it’s still not an easy task that he’s accomplished.
“We just wish him well. I had no fears about the club he was going to. I knew Michael Carrick well from my England days, and Ole Gunnar [Solskjær] I know a lot about. Sir Alex [Ferguson] is still there, and that’s important. I told him: ‘You’re going to a good club who will help you. All you’ve got to do is keep doing what you’ve done for us, working hard and being professional. Keep modest and humble with your feet on the ground, accepting there’s always more to learn, and then your talent will see you through.’”
Hodgson described the negotiations which sealed Wan-Bissaka’s transfer as having achieved “agreement reasonably quickly and certainly reasonably amicably”. That is open to debate given United’s initial proposals had been rather more creative in terms of the structure of the deal that Palace had been willing to accept. At one point, talks appeared to be breaking down, with the London club laughing off a proposal which would have guaranteed them £35m, with a further £15m dependent upon personal and collective honours, some of which – including winning the Champions League – they deemed to be rather unrealistic. That bid was rejected with a reminder Palace were under no obligation to sell.
Yet United’s stance shifted in the aftermath of what was, in effect, an ultimatum and when talks resumed the following week a deal worth an initial £45m with £5m of achievable add-ons secured the player. “I suppose we were hoping, deep down, he might think: ‘I’ll give it another year or two at Crystal Palace,’ but it was an unrealistic hope,” Hodgson said. “When the really big clubs come knocking at your door and say: ‘We think you’re a good player and ready to be our right-back in the matches ahead,’ I don’t think there’s very much to do other than wish the player well and hope the clubs reach an honest agreement. The only sticking point can be whether they are prepared to pay the market value.”
Time will tell whether £50m for a player who boasted only 46 first‑team games feels more like a bargain. For now, there is pride at the academy graduate’s progress and, when assessing what part the Palace coaching staff played in Wan-Bissaka’s rise, that operatic analogy to digest. “All the credit for him getting where he is today must go to Aaron,” Hodgson said. “All we can do is prepare people as best we can for the matches, try to give them as much good advice as we can. It’s up to them to perform.
“The opera singer, I’m sure, gets a lot of good voice training, or advice and direction in terms of how they act. But when they step on that stage, do they sing well enough? Do they act well enough? If they do, they become the Björlings and Carusos. If not, they fall by the wayside.” Wan-Bissaka remains centre stage.