Aaron Wan-Bissaka says it will be ‘quite special’ to face former club Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, but insists he is totally focused on helping West Ham United defeat his old employers.
The full-back spent five seasons at Old Trafford, making 190 appearances and winning two major trophies, the EFL Cup in 2023 and FA Cup in his final appearance for the Red Devils against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in June.
Having played alongside and trained with against the vast majority of the players he will face on Sunday, Wan-Bissaka knows that, despite their inconsistent results so far this season, Manchester United possess plenty of quality in their squad.
“It'll be quite special,” he confirmed. “I haven’t seen them in a while so to come up against them it’ll be mixed emotions, you know, but the main focus is to come up with a win and produce a whole team performance.
“I haven't been watching too much of them since I left, to be honest, but it’s always a test. Even in training when I was there, we used to come up against each other, so I know what they’re capable of doing as a team.”
Wan-Bissaka is a quietly-spoken character, preferring to do his talking on the pitch rather than in the interview room, but his determination to make his loved ones proud of his performances is steely and evident every time he crosses the touchline.
With that in mind, the South London-born 26-year-old is happy to be back, far nearer to home and in a city he knows well.
“It made sense for me with my family and friends so close and having that support around me,” he explained. “It’s important for every player but especially for me because they’ve always been my biggest supporters ever since I started playing. It’s always a proud moment playing in front of them.
“I’ve settled in nicely around this area and I like it. Since I joined, I’ve been welcomed even from the first day. When you join a new team, everything is different, but everything clicked from the first day and I’m really enjoying it.”
Those closest to Wan-Bissaka will be in the stands at London Stadium again on Sunday, when West Ham seek to bounce back from a humbling 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
The defender admits confidence in the camp is not at its highest after that result, and four defeats in the Irons’ opening eight Premier League matches, but says a win over his old club will give that confidence a welcome boost.
“Coming back from a loss is not easy,” he observed. “You have to regroup with the team to see how everyone's doing, and it’s a time to pick ourselves up and just focus on the next game.
“For me I would say we have to have belief to complete the whole 90 minutes of the game as a team, as a whole, and have that winning mentality in the whole game. We’re getting there step by step. I can see we’ll get there eventually, so it’ll be good when that happens.
“A win on Sunday would be important for the Club itself and will give us confidence going forward.”
