West Ham United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has one big problem with his defending according to Micah Richards.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham for £15 million from Manchester United last month, and he has already impressed the London Stadium faithful.
Julen Lopetegui added Aaron Wan-Bissaka to his ranks at West Ham in the summer, along with eight other new signings.
The Hammers head coach has strengthened his squad beyond all comprehension this summer, but there’s a real argument to be made that Wan-Bissaka was the best signing of the lot.
The fact that West Ham paid just £15 million for the 26-year-old is hard to believe, but even more incredible than that is that we faced hardly any competition in the race for his signature.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the former Crystal Palace right-back will go on to be a hugely important player for the Hammers.
However, Richards has shared a word of warning with us.
Micah Richards notices problem with West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka
The Sky Sports pundit used to be a right-back at the very highest level himself, so he should know the ins and outs of what it takes to succeed in that specific position.
He was a top player in his day, so we should take what he says with real credence.
However, I feel like his latest comments on Hammers right-back Wan-Bissaka were a little wide of the mark.
The former Manchester United has consistently proven over the past five or six years that he’s one of the very best around when it comes to defending.
Richards has noticed one particular weak-link in his armour though.
The former Manchester City defender was a guest in the Sky Sports studio for West Ham’s clash with Manchester City, and he discussed what kind of impact Wan-Bissaka could make at the London Stadium (August 31st, 5:16pm).
Richards said, “I think obviously he has experience, but his one v one defending is some of the best I’ve ever seen in the Premier League. Watching him as a full-back at times, he sometimes doesn’t know how to defend the far post so sometimes he’s ball watching. But in terms of his one on one defending, he’s a top signing.“
Richards harsh on Wan-Bissaka
The criticism from Micah is slightly harsh if you ask me.
I understand what Richards is saying, but in my opinion, Wan-Bissaka isn’t bad at defending the far post.
And his ability in one v one duels far outweighs any parts of his game that are perhaps not as good as they should be.
The 26-year-old was a transformative signing for the Hammers, and he’s a huge upgrade on Vladimir Coufal, there’s no doubt about that.
His pace and power down the right hand flank will take us to an entirely new level, and he has already shown just how much of a key player he will be for us.
Micah Richards highlighted one particular weakness he thinks Aaron Wan-Bissaka has, but I honestly think it was just criticism for the sake of it.
Aaron is a top player, and he makes us a far better team.
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