Manchester United suffered a blow in their pursuit of highly-rated right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka as Crystal Palace have rejected a £40 million bid for the Englishman, according to Sky Sports. The London club reportedly want £60 million for the 21-year-old as per the same report, while Standard have revealed that Palace could settle for a bid of around £50 million.
The Red Devils may pursue the signing of either Kieran Trippier or Thomas Meunier of Paris Saint-Germain if they fail to secure the services of Wan-Bissaka in the summer.
Wan-Bissaka has had a sensational year or so since debuting for Crystal Palace in February 2018. He went on to make the right-back spot his own at Crystal Palace, as he made a huge impression in the 2018-19 season for Palace and started 35 games in the Premier League, registering three assists.
The young Englishman has impressed with his dribbling and runs from full-back, as well as strong tackling and crucial interceptions, which seemingly caught the eye of the big clubs in England. After winning the Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2017-18 season, Wan-Bissaka followed it up with a Player of the Year award in the 2018-19 season for Crystal Palace.
The 21-year-old hasn’t yet played for the English senior team but did make his U-21 debut in late 2018, while a call-up to the senior team is on the horizon.
Should they pay the £60m Palace want?
Manchester United, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, seem to be going back to the transfer policy of old at Manchester United by signing young, talented British players. The signing of Daniel James, Solskjaer’s first signing of the season, points towards it.
The Red Devils should certainly pay the money that Palace want for Wan-Bissaka as he is a player who could be an important figure in the United backline for the next decade and has shown that he can become a great player in the future.
For United to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, they will have to spend big and wisely on signing players who fit into their system. Manchester City signed a couple of talented full-backs for big sums of money a few years ago, which highlights that the transfer value of world-class full-backs has increased exponentially and that United will not get a player as good as Wan-Bissaka for a lesser price.