It surprised many of us when Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
West Ham signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United in the summer of 2024 for just £15 million.
Hammers head coach Graham Potter has already raved about the 27-year-old defender, describing him as ‘really, really good’.
Wan-Bissaka has gone from strength to strength since Potter’s arrival at the London Stadium.
Under Julen Lopetegui’s reign, he was deployed as an attacking wing-back and as a result, he was often caught high up the pitch out of position.
That hasn’t been happening as much over the past month, and he has once again established himself as one of the Premier League‘s best right-backs.
It’s little wonder why the former Manchester United star publicly criticised Lopetegui’s tactics earlier this season.
The hapless Spaniard risked ruining the former Crystal Palace academy graduate’s career, just like he did with numerous other players at the London Stadium.
Under Potter’s guidance, we should all see the best of Wan-Bissaka over the course of the next few years.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka admission proves West Ham fans got him all wrong
Lopetegui’s ludicrous experiment of playing Wan-Bissaka in an advanced role failed miserably.
And it was probably a major contributing factor behind his eventual sacking.
Despite the struggles under Lopetegui, the right-back’s quality has still shone through brightly this season.
The £15 million West Ham spent on Aaron Wan-Bissaka now looks like one of the best deals in our history.
In 24 Premier League appearances for the Hammers this term, Wan-Bissaka has bagged two goals and one assist.
During those outings, the 27-year-old has averaged 1.8 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and 2.8 clearances per game (Who Scored).
He is the best recovery tackler in the league, by a long, long way.
When ‘The Spider’ is fully fit and firing on all cylinders, he’s good enough to play for any team in the Premier League in my opinion.
And the good news is that Wan-Bissaka wanted to join the Hammers for footballing reasons, rather than personal ones.
The defender responded when asked by West Ham’s in-house interviewer what persuaded him to join the Hammers:
“Firstly, I would start with the location and being back home, but also the project I could see that was being built up around the team. The fanbase and team itself also played a part.”
Sure, he still mentioned the opportunity to move back home, but he did highlight how much the West Ham project excited him as well, something we didn’t hear from him six months ago.
What Wan-Bissaka said when he first joined West Ham
The Hammers right-back has been at the London Stadium for six months now.
However, just after he joined us, his first comments had some West Ham fans questioning the motives behind his move back to London.
Wan-Bissaka explained how a return to the Capital made joining the Hammers a no-brainer, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“It was a no brainer for me to join West Ham — I’m excited and happy to be here.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in London, and I’m excited for what’s coming. I was born here, so I know the ins and outs of London, which plays a big part in my life, so to be back playing in this city means a lot to me.“
Many West Ham fans, myself included, believed that Wan-Bissaka’s sole reason for moving to the London Stadium was that it meant he could return to his hometown, having spent five years in Manchester.
However, his latest comments prove that that wasn’t actually the case.
In fairness to him, he has been one of our better performers this season anyway, so even if there are fans questioning his commitment to the cause, his displays for us doesn’t fit that agenda.
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