Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka is well-known for his defending ability, especially in one-on-one situations, but the right-back once showed his team-mates he can be handy in front of goal when he wants to be.
Wan-Bissaka, signed for £50m from Crystal Palace in 2019, arrived with that lofty reputation - one which many expected him to build on at Old Trafford. There have been moments at which that has been true, but there have also been injury worries - including the hamstring issue which sidelined him early this season and the separate muscular problem which struck in the new year.
The defender returned to action in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool, playing 71 minutes of the dramatic extra-time victory. It was his first outing since mid-January, when he completed the full 90 against Spurs in the Premier League.
He has two assists to his name this term, but no goals, and has only scored twice in United colours. Both of those goals came in the 2020-21 season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with one in particular catching the eye of his colleagues.
United made a slow start to the 2020-21 campaign. A controversial late victory at Brighton - with a match-winning penalty awarded after the final whistle - was sandwiched by home defeats against Crystal Palace and Tottenham with an aggregate score of 2-9.
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The pressure was mounting when United travelled to Newcastle for their fourth game of the season, and it grew further when a Luke Shaw own goal put the hosts in front. United levelled through Harry Maguire, but it was still 1-1 going into the final five minutes.
It was at this point that Solskjaer's team turned the screw. Three late goals followed, with Fernandes scoring the crucial second, but it was Wan-Bissaka's effort - latching onto a Marcus Rashford pass to blast high into Karl Darlow's net - which really caught the eye.
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Wan-Bissaka gave Karl Darlow no chance with his finish (Owen Humphreys/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"[We were so happy] because we didn't know he can shoot!" fellow scorer Fernandes told MUTV at the time. "So it's difficult for us believing he can score because we never see him shooting.
"We were talking about it now in the dressing room and asking him because we all were thinking he wanted to cross and he makes a bad ball and scores. But I'm happy for him, he deserved the goal and we always ask this from him. Be more positive, be more in the box, try and improve because he has such good qualities.
Despite the goal, the Portuguese demanded more from his colleague. "Everyone knows about him being a defensive player and everything but he needs to show that he's more than a defensive player and I think he has the qualities to show that," he added.
Wan-Bissaka would score again later that same season (PA)By his own standards, Wan-Bissaka didn't have to wait too much longer for another goal. It came early on against Southampton in February 2021, when he ghosted in at the back post to score the first of nine unanswered goals for United.
He hasn't scored again since, though. Indeed, the next season was less enjoyable for the defender, who found minutes harder to come by, but in 2023 he opened up on how Erik ten Hag's arrival had helped him revive his career at Old Trafford.
"It can go both ways," he told The Mail. "You can just sit there and complain about it and not care, or you can actually try. I thought the best way was for me to try. It’s obviously never good. But I just had to deal with it. I had support around me, my family, telling me every day, 'Just keep working hard, have faith, your time will come'.
"So that helped me get through each day. I always have that faith in myself to get myself out of situations like that. I had my head screwed on and I was ready to do what it takes. Probably after January, I felt it I was in the right direction. I felt good about myself. I was happy. I just wanted to keep improving."
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Back in January, United triggered an option to extend Wan-Bissaka's contract until the summer of 2025. Between now and then, he has a chance to show those displays of finishing ability three seasons ago were no fluke.
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