 Wan-Bissaka warming up forWest Ham United in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aaron Wan-Bissaka[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-11-26)26 November 1997 (age 27)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Croydon, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Junior Elite Academy | |||
| 2009–2017 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Crystal Palace | 42 | (0) |
| 2019–2024 | Manchester United | 130 | (2) |
| 2024– | West Ham United | 28 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2015 | DR Congo U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:01, 15 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (born 26 November 1997) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as aright-back forPremier League clubWest Ham United.
Anacademy graduate of hometown clubCrystal Palace, Wan-Bissaka made his senior debut in 2018, and quickly rose to prominence, being named the club'sPlayer of the Year in his only full season. In 2019, he moved toManchester United for £50 million, winning anEFL Cup andFA Cup with the club before departing for West Ham in 2024.
He is of Congolese descent and made one appearance forDR Congo under-20s in 2015. He has gone on to represent the country of his birth, England, atunder-20 andunder-21 levels.
Wan-Bissaka was born inCroydon, Greater London[4] and grew up inNew Addington, Croydon, where he attended Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School.[5]
Wan-Bissaka was a member of theCrystal Palace academy from the age of 11,[6] where he started out as a winger.[5] He signed a professional contract with the club in December 2016.[7]
On the 2017 pre-season tour, Wan-Bissaka began to feature with the Palace first team under new managerFrank de Boer, playing in a number of friendlies. The Dutchman played a formation withwing-backs, and this new role emphasised Wan-Bissaka's defensive capabilities, eventually leading to him moving from a winger to a full-back.[8] However, he saw chances limited in the first half of the season as De Boer showed a preference to playTimothy Fosu-Mensah orMartin Kelly atright-back, then new managerRoy Hodgson favouredJoel Ward. He was an unused substitute a few times under the new manager, while also starring for the Eagles U23 side.[9][10][11]
On 25 February 2018, Wan-Bissaka made his first-team debut for Crystal Palace, in the midst of an injury crisis, in aPremier League match againstTottenham Hotspur atSelhurst Park which resulted in a 1–0 defeat.[5][12][13] He played all but two minutes of the four Palace matches in March, and won the club's Player of the Month award with 65% of the supporters' votes.[14]
On 20 August 2018, Wan-Bissaka was sent off in a 2–0 loss toLiverpool for denyingMohamed Salah a clear goalscoring opportunity.[15] He was named the club's Player of the Month for August, September, October and March.[16] On 7 April 2019, he extended his contract with the club until 2022.[7] Later that month, he was namedCrystal Palace Player of the Year for his displays throughout the season.[17]
On 29 June 2019, Wan-Bissaka signed a five-year contract with fellow Premier League clubManchester United. Crystal Palace would receive an initial fee of £45 million, with another £5 million due in potential bonuses.[18] Upon signing for Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka became the sixth-most expensive defender of all time and the most expensive English player who was uncapped by the national side at the time of transfer.[19][20]
He made his debut for the club on 11 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 league victory overChelsea.[21] At the end of his first season at Manchester United, he made the highest number of tackles in the2019–20 Premier League season.[22] On 17 October 2020, as United won 4–1 atNewcastle United, he scored the first goal of his professional career.[23] On 2 February 2021, he scored the opening goal in United's Premier League record-equalling9–0 win overSouthampton.[24]
Wan-Bissaka missed a significant part of the first half of the2022–23 season due to illnesses or injuries,[25][26] withDiogo Dalot starting at right-back in the majority of United's games.[27][28] He returned to the pitch after theWorld Cup break in impressive form, with managerErik ten Hag praising his improvements.[28][29]
On 13 August 2024,West Ham United announced the signing of Wan-Bissaka on a seven-year contract for a reported fee of £15 million.[30][31] On 25 November, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory overNewcastle United atSt James' Park.[32] He scored his second consecutive goal in the next game, a 2–5 loss toArsenal at home in theLondon Stadium on 30 November.[33]
Wan-Bissaka was born in England and is of Congolese descent.[34] Wan-Bissaka made a single appearance forDR Congo U20s in an 8–0 friendly loss to theEngland U17s on 7 October 2015.[35] However, he remained eligible to represent the country of his birth and, after impressing for Crystal Palace, Wan-Bissaka was called up to theEngland under-20 squad in March 2018.[36] He was sent off during his debut againstPoland, although England still won 1–0.[37]
Wan-Bissaka was called up to theEngland U21 squad for the first time in September 2018 and made his debut for them on 6 September, playing 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with theNetherlands atCarrow Road.[38] On 27 May 2019, Wan-Bissaka was included in England's 23-man squad for the2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[39] He made one appearance in the tournament, a 2–1 loss againstFrance, in which he scored anown goal.[40]
In August 2019, Wan-Bissaka received his first call-up to thesenior England team, ahead ofUEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers againstKosovo andBulgaria, but was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a back injury.[41][42] Since the withdrawal, competition with the likes ofKyle Walker,Trent Alexander-Arnold,Kieran Trippier andReece James at right-back meant that Wan-Bissaka is yet to make an appearance for the side.
Though in May 2019 he asserted his intention to pursue an international career with England, stating "the aim is England. I am happy playing with England and representing England, so that is what I am going to continue doing", he has since expressed interest in representing his ancestralDR Congo at senior level.[43] Media speculation has also supported the claim of his potential nationality switch, even though he has not done so by 2024.[44][45]
Wan-Bissaka is primarily a defensively minded right-back, known for his pace, slide tackling and ability in one-on-one defensive duels.[46][47] He was described as the "best one-on-one defender for a full-back in the world" byJamie Carragher in 2020.[48] In the2019–20 Premier League season Wan-Bissaka made the joint-highest number of tackles, level withWilfred Ndidi on 129.[49]
In December 2021, Wan-Bissaka was given a six-month driving ban and a £31,500 fine by Leeds Magistrates Court for driving while disqualified and uninsured, and for not giving driver details about two speeding offences. His lawyers said that he was unaware of his offending, as he had not registered his new address with theDVLA.[50]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2016–17[51] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[52] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[53] | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| Total | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | |||
| Manchester United | 2019–20[54] | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| 2020–21[55] | Premier League | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15[b] | 0 | 54 | 2 | |
| 2021–22[56] | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[57] | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[58] | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| Total | 130 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 190 | 2 | ||
| West Ham United | 2024–25[59] | Premier League | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | |
| Career total | 200 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 266 | 4 | ||
Manchester United
Individual
