West Ham United confirmed the signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka today, and Tim Steidten was effusive in his praise of the defender.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka cost West Ham just £15 million – an incredible deal in this day and age, and we should all be doffing our caps to Tim Steidten for getting the transfer done.
Despite concerns overnight, Fabrizio Romano always insisted that the former Crystal Palace right-back would be a West Ham player in the end.
The 26-year-old will be a major upgrade on Vladimir Coufal, and Julen Lopetegui has managed to drastically improve the Hammers back-line in just six weeks.
Wan-Bissaka should make a huge difference to the way that we play. His incredible recovery pace will enable us to press more aggressively higher up the pitch as a team.
The London-born defender’s strengths and weaknesses have been well-documented over the years, but Steidten has made a claim today that will certainly raise some eyebrows.
Tim Steidten makes Aaron Wan-Bissaka claim after West Ham transfer
The former Crystal Palace man will be a huge hit at the London Stadium.
Wan-Bissaka is now officially a Hammer, and Steidten raved about him when speaking to WHUFC.com.
The German highlighted the 26-year-old’s strengths, and made one shock statement.
“I am delighted we’ve been able to get the deal to sign Aaron over the line,” said Steidten. “He’s exactly the type of player we’re looking to attract to this Club in the prime years of his career.
“He’s an incredibly talented defender who we rate very highly – superb in one-on-one situations. He’s versatile too, which is clearly another positive. He’s played over 170 Premier League games during his career – he knows the division inside-out.“
Now, it was the ‘He’s versatile too’ line that stood out to me. In fact, it shocked me.
The reason for that is because Wan-Bissaka is a right-back who excels at defending, and isn’t the best going forward.
The 26-year-old is exactly what we need right now, what with his blistering pace, exceptional tackling ability and positional awareness.
However, to suggest that he is a versatile player is quite simply wide of the mark.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a right-back, and he will be a great signing for West Ham, I have no doubts about that.
However, to suggest that he will be able to fulfil other roles is either disingenuous or ignorant.
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