Aaron Wan-Bissaka finally handed Man Utd exit route after losing spot to Diogo Dalot

Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be handed a lifeline by West Ham in the January transfer window after becoming a peripheral figure at Manchester United over the past 12 months.

United shelled out £50million to bring Wan-Bissaka, 24, to the club back in the summer of 2019. But the highly-rated Crystal Palace academy graduate has failed to flourish at Old Trafford.

After losing his first-team spot to Diogo Dalot during Ralf Rangnick’s interim reign last season, Wan-Bissaka’s fortunes have not improved under Erik ten Hag. The right-back has tasted just four minutes of action under the Dutchman and is expected to leave the club once the transfer window reopens next month.

The Manchester Evening News has revealed that West Ham are one of the clubs who are interested in acquiring Wan-Bissaka’s services in the January transfer window. The Hammers would be open to taking the full-back on loan for the remainder of the campaign rather than striking a permanent deal.

Wolves, under the management of former Spain boss Julen Lopetegui, are another side who are believed to be courting Wan-Bissaka. The report goes on to outline that West Ham have a ‘close relationship’ with the agency that represents Wan-Bissaka, which could give them the edge if a battle for the full-back’s signature were to develop over the coming weeks.

Hammers trio Maxwell Cornet, Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio are represented by Unique Sports Management, who will be tasked with resolving Wan-Bissaka’s future.

Wan-Bissaka was told that he was free to leave Old Trafford in the summer and reports at the time heavily implied that Ten Hag was looking for a new right-back to compete with Dalot, who is set to rejoin the fold after impressing at the World Cup with Portugal. While Ten Hag was unable to source a new full-back before the summer transfer window shut, the United boss is expected to resume his search when winter window opens in a fortnight’s time.

Ten Hag appeared to hint that Wan-Bissaka had no future at the club when he lauded Dalot’s development earlier this year. But when he stressed that a club like Manchester United needed “two good full-backs” on either side, he made no specific mention of Wan-Bissaka.

“I’m really happy with the development of Diogo,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports back in October. “In possession, he’s really good. He has the breath to go up and down, so the development is really good. But I have to mention a club as Manchester United need two good full-backs because we have a lot of games to cover.”