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Rio Ferdinand praises Manchester United star Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s defensive ability and hints at position swap


Could the England right-back have a future as part of a back three? (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has praised Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s defensive ability and believes his talents could even see him utilised as a centre-back in a back three.

The right-back, who moved to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace last summer, has enjoyed a strong start to his career with the Red Devils, showcasing his incredible defensive instincts and athleticism.

Very few wingers have come out on top against Wan-Bissaka this season, while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been working on improving his final-third contributions too.

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He’s still a long way short of England teammate and Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in that department, though Ferdinand is a huge fan of Wan-Bissaka’s defensive ability and feels he could be deployed in a different role in the future.

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During a Q&A on his Instagram live, Ferdinand explained: ‘If you moulded them two players together, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold, you’ve got the best player.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka one-versus-one, I’ve seen [Raheem] Sterling play against him and Sterling rinses everybody, he finds it hard against Wan-Bissaka.

‘One-versus-one he will match you physically, he will run with you, he will slide on the floor if you’re getting away from him a little bit more and he has to go into overdrive.

‘He can cover people, unbelievable. He could play right side of a back three at Man United if they wanted to, I think he’d be brilliant there.

Ferdinand played at right-back himself before moving to central defence (Picture: Getty)

‘On the ball nowhere near as good as Trent, but Trent defensively one-on-one isn’t anywhere near as good as Wan-Bissaka, so if you had both of them you’ve got the ultimate machine.

‘It depends on the game, If I knew I was going to have to defend a lot and I need someone to lock down the winger I’m bringing AWB on.’

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