Chelsea came close to signing Man Utd star

Robin Bairner

• 29 Apr 2024 08:10 BST
• 7 min read

Chelsea came close to landing Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka in a deal that would have had far-reaching consequences for both clubs.

Former Chelsea scout Yousuf Sajjad has revealed how the Blues studied the possibility of moving for the defender while he was still on the books of Crystal Palace as a youngster, but that the Stamford Bridge club decided to stick with the player they had on their books: Reece James.

Sajjad had a leading role in the decision and has explained the thinking behind snubbing Wan-Bissaka, who has gone on to play on nearly 200 occasions for Man Utd.

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“At the time, it was an area we had players who were going to be potentially moving on up the age groups. Then it became about who is the best option from a long-term standpoint. That was when it became a discussion about was it worth going and investing that amount of money in a position where we have Reece James,” he explained to Rising Ballers.

“To be fair, the choice was made that we would stick with Reece James.

“In the end – not that money was ever an issue – but we could at best maybe spend this elsewhere.

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“The difference between the two at the time, if we were to bring in Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the time, it’s not like he was miles ahead of Reece James and he’s going to make steps bigger than him.

“You then ask yourself: ‘What’s worthwhile for us to do?’”

James or Wan-Bissaka?

Chelsea will feel they made the right call in sticking by their man.

Although both Wan-Bissaka and James have gone on to enjoy excellent top-flight careers, there is little doubt that the latter has progressed more impressively, despite injury problems plaguing his career.

The Blues star has won 16 caps for England, while Wan-Bissaka remains uncapped.

Development of James and Wan-Bissaka

James is also the more modern full-back, carrying stronger attacking attributes, although Wan-Bissaka, who moved from Crystal Palace to Manchester United in 2019 for €55 million, is generally regarded as the best one-on-one defender in the Premier League.

The Chelsea man also has a higher Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €39m compared to the Red Devil, who is worth €17.7m.