Aaron Wan-Bissaka seems to have lost his place under Ralf Rangnick but he’s the left the German with an obvious choice to make.
Gary Neville made over 500 appearances at Manchester United and he won countless major honours at the club.
Jamie Carragher wasn’t wrong when he once claimed that no one grows up wanting to be Gary Neville, though. Those comments were made in reference to playing at right-back, as does any child spend hours dreaming of playing in that position? It’s unlikely.
Yet Neville was just what Sir Alex Ferguson needed at United. The academy graduate was an insurance policy at the back that provided the platform for players with attacking flair ahead of him to freely express themselves. He knew his role and he did it exceptionally well. There were no complaints when Neville was handed the captain’s armband in 2005 and that was telling.
Neville earned legendary status at Old Trafford, however, his story in football might have been quite different if he had been born two decades later. The sport has now evolved beyond recognition and so have the demands of each position on the pitch in tandem.
It’s not a surprise that Neville doesn’t marvel when watching Wan-Bissaka. The 24-year-old is a throwback to his generation – an astute defender of the ball but underwhelming going forward – and yet he almost seemed undroppable under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ralf Rangnick started Dalot at home in his first game in charge as interim boss versus Crystal Palace and Wan-Bissaka was on the bench. That game represented a change of guard on the touchline but it also was a potential change of guard at right-back.
Wan-Bissaka has not been good enough going forward for some time now and Dalot has taken his opportunities well. The Portuguese has offered United another dimension and his creative runs give United the elusive numerical advantage down the right channel.
Dalot’s energetic performances have been enough to warrant his inclusion in the starting XI against Newcastle and it’s currently hard to see a way back in for Wan-Bissaka. Rangnick arrived with no bias, promising to be completely objective with his selections and, while Wan-Bissaka has been a tad unfortunate with injury since his appointment, Dalot is winning the battle to start at right-back.
Wan-Bissaka is arguably a better defender than Dalot but that fact is made redundant by his weakness going forward.
While no child is probably currently growing up wanting to be Wan-Bissaka, they might if he can improve the attacking side of his game.
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