Erik ten Hag explains Man Utd tactical reason behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka role ahead of Chelsea clash

Erik ten Hag has revealed the reason why Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been deployed as Manchester United’s left-back in recent games ahead of their clash against Chelsea.

In recent matches under Ten Hag at United, there has been a notable tactical shift with Wan-Bissaka deployed at left-back since his return, despite many anticipating that Diogo Dalot would shift across there.

As the Dutch boss himself mentioned, both full-backs possess unique skills and attributes that can benefit the team in different ways.

While Wan-Bissaka is renowned for his defensive prowess and ability to nullify opposition threats, Dalot brings a stronger in-possession game to the right flank.

Importantly, however, Ten Hag has decided to keep Dalot on the right mainly due to the connections he has built with the right-wingers, particularly Alejandro Garnacho.

The Argentine has excelled since switching wings and is building a positive relationship with the Portuguese full-back. It seems that Ten Hag wants to keep that dynamic moving forward and is the main reason Wan-Bissaka is being used on the left.

Speaking about the decision ahead of the upcoming Chelsea clash, Ten Hag told club reporters: “I can’t go too deep into that fact, but yeah, they have both [been good], of course, their skills and their contribution to the team.

“Yeah, we have a clear idea what’s ideal, and sometimes we have to adjust this, but lately it worked very good out, and we want to keep that consistency with Diogo and with Garnacho over the right side because they have their connection.

“But also with Diogo, I know he has a very good connection with Antony, so yeah, most of the time you want to keep such routines.

“That’s why we chose lately for this partnership and keep Diogo more over the right side and then lately Azza [Wan-Bissaka] came in and did very good over the left side.”