‘There isn’t a better defender in the country on his day’ – BBC pundit offers high praise for Man Utd ace

Man Utd secured an impressive 2-1 win over rivals Man City on Saturday, and it led to plenty of prise and recognition from BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks.

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial helped pull off an upset at the Etihad, as the Red Devils climbed the table after their win over Tottenham in midweek to move up to fifth place.

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They now sit five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, and so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will no doubt hope that his side can maintain their current form and continue to put pressure on their rivals above them.

David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Rashford all got the nod from Crooks in his team of the week, but it was Wan-Bissaka who was given high praise by the pundit as noted in his comments below.

“I’ve been banging on about Aaron Wan-Bissaka for nearly two years now,” he wrote in his BBC Sport column. “I also said he was a Manchester United player if ever I saw one. His defending in the Manchester derby was nothing short of outstanding. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold might be better on the ball but there isn’t a better defender in the country on his day than Wan-Bissaka”.

There is little doubt that the 22-year-old has made a big impact since his summer move to Old Trafford, and having made 18 appearances across all competitions already so far this season, he has established himself as a key figure for Man Utd in their backline.

That’s still pretty significant praise from Crooks to put the former Palace man at that level above countless other top players who operate in that same department, but he certainly did put in a stellar performance against City which was key in getting the three points, and he’ll undoubtedly hope to continue to improve and develop his game moving forward.

It’s testament to United and Solskjaer too that they showed such faith in Wan-Bissaka to be able to step up to the next level, and particularly after splashing out £50m for him over the summer, as noted by BBC Sport.