Raheem Sterling highlights Man United defender as one of the toughest ‘battles’ of his career

Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling has named Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka as one of the toughest defenders he has faced throughout his career.

With 372 Premier League appearances and 121 goals, Sterling has had his share of successes in the league but has struggled against Wan-Bissaka.

Throughout his career Sterling has faced off against Wan-Bissaka on nine occasions, scoring just two goals against teams the defender has played in.

Both of those goals came when Wan-Bissaka was still at Crystal Palace, with Sterling unable to score in the seven times he has faced off against the full-back whilst Wan-Bissaka has been part of a Red Devils defence.

With United and Chelsea set to face off in under a month, Sterling said this about his long-term Premier League opponent:

“A battle that I enjoyed was [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka,” Sterling told STATSports. “Just you’d get past him, [you’d be] going through and out of nowhere, you’d just feel a tackle. So that’s one where I quite enjoyed the battle.”

Despite earning the praise of the four-time Premier League winner, Wan-Bissaka’s future at Old Trafford is looking seriously uncertain.

As of the time of writing, the Englishman’s contract at United has just over a year left on it, with several clubs showing interest in the defender.

Earlier this year, there were reports that United may use Wan-Bissaka as a bargaining tool in their negotiations to sign Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise.

Palace are believed to have always held an interest in bringing Wan-Bissaka back to Selhurst Park, and there is potential for a deal to be struck between the two sides.

Elsewhere, there has been heavily reported interest in Wan-Bissaka from several Serie A sides, with current league leaders Inter Milan being touted as a possible next club for the defender.