Shy Aaron Wan-Bissaka prefers to let his feet do the talking
Red Devils' new rampaging right-back Wan-Bissaka prefers to do his talking on the pitch
Manchester United new boy Aaron Wan-Bissaka's tenacious tackling and lung-bursting overlaps have already made him a fan favourite among Red Devils supporters.
But, unlike his relentless on-field demeanour, Wan-Bissaka seemed almost painfully shy when answering questions from Singaporean media on the sidelines of the Adidas Dare To Create event at the Marina Bay floating platform yesterday.
The 21-year-old fielded a total of six questions, answering four, with each response lasting no longer than 10 seconds, while declining to answer the other two.
When asked what he thought would be his most important contribution in the upcoming season, the right-back turned to a press officer and requested to move on to the next question.
The same scenario repeated itself when he was asked what he was most looking forward to next season.
Unlike his peers Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, Wan-Bissaka prefers to do his talking on the pitch.
"I don't really speak much. I just like to get what I need to get done on the pitch," said Wan-Bissaka, when he was eventually asked if becoming more media-savvy is something he needed to work on.
At the National Stadium last Saturday, his performance spoke volumes.
Making just his second start since a £45 million (S$76.5m) move from Crystal Palace, Wan-Bissaka combined a solid defensive display with a gutsy desire to get forward as United maintained their perfect start to pre-season with a 1-0 International Champions Cup victory over Inter Milan.
When asked if he had heard fans chanting his name and whether he felt he had played well, Wan-Bissaka produced a sheepish smile, before saying: "Time to put that behind us and focus on the next game."
One player who was willing to speak about the new fullback was goalkeeper David de Gea, who has been impressed by the Englishman.
Said the Spaniard: "He's shown in the last two or three games that he has pace, good with the ball, great defender. So, he's a good signing for us."
United, who finished sixth in the English Premier League last season, will need more such performances from Wan-Bissaka, especially as the teams around them continue to strengthen.
West Ham United, who finished 10th, have smashed their transfer record to sign French striker Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported £45m, while also adding midfielder Pablo Fornals, who starred for Spain's European Under-21 Championship-winning side last month.
Earlier this month, Leicester City, who finished ninth last season, splashed out £30m on Newcastle United striker Ayoze Perez.
Juan Mata believes this will be their toughest season yet.
He said: "It's going to be a very difficult Premier League (season). The level in the league is raised every single year. All the clubs have been bringing in very good players. We need to try to be at our very best."
When asked if he thought wantaway midfielder Pogba would stay at the club, Mata was diplomatic: "I cannot speak for other people. I can only speak for myself.
"My motivation was to stay and try to win big trophies with this incredible club and keep having this feeling of playing for Manchester United."
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