Only Borussia Dortmund ace Jadon Sancho looks set to break biggest South London player transfer soon as Aaron Wan-Bissaka sets a new record
richard@slpmedia.co.uk Aaron Wan-Bissaka became the most expensive South London player ever when he completed his move to Manchester United on Saturday.
No fee has been officially announced by either club but the South London Press had been told that the fee is £55million for the Croydon-born right-back, 21.
Wan-Bissaka has signed a five-year contract with the option of an extra 12 months.
It has been reported that the Eagles have a 10 per cent sell-on if the England U21 international is transferred for more than £50m.
Wan-Bissaka’s switch to United is a club record sale by Palace – more than doubling the terms they agreed when Yannick Bolasie joined Everton.
The Eagles would trump that figure if they were to sell Wilfried Zaha but that looks hugely unlikely.
There have been murmurings that the Ivory Coast international wants to quit the SE25 outfit for a club playing European football.
But Palace would have to pay 25 per cent of any fee to Manchester United – a sell-on inserted in the deal when the attacker returned to Selhurst Park – and that is a huge impediment.
It means that the Eagles would demand up to £100m for their talisman and that would effectively shut down any exit routes to admirers like Arsenal, who lack the spending power to hit that number.
Palace have always been reluctant to part with their prize assets. Although they did sell Zaha to Manchester United in January 2013 they were a Championship club at the time – with the winger spending the rest of the season with the Eagles as they won promotion to the top flight.
While Bolasie was a high-profile exit, it was a sensible piece of business as he has featured just 32 times for the Toffees and been loaned out to Aston Villa and RSC Anderlecht.
United have had to pay big for Wan-Bissaka, who has only played 42 first-team games in his career but was outstanding in the 2018-19 campaign as he won the Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.
“I’m excited to have finally signed for this team,” said Wan-Bissaka. “As a kid, everyone wants to play for a great team like this.
“It’s an honour to represent this great club.
“I think I’ll improve every step and learn different things around my team-mates. Manchester United is a big club with a big fanbase that are tight together.”
Wan-Bissaka’s family travelled with him to Old Trafford, posing for pictures as he put pen to paper.
“I can see I have made them proud with this decision and where I have come from,” he said. “We make decisions together on everything and they know what’s right for me.
“I spoke to him [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United manager] and he told me how he feels about me. He reassured me about his plans and what he wants to do with the team. It’s something I want to be a part of.
“It was the gaffer’s decision, his plan to rebuild and bring the team back to where it is supposed to. I want to be a part of that plan.
“I’m going to give my all for the club and the fantastic fans. I can’t wait to get started.”
With Zaha’s future looking set to remain with Palace, the only way you could see Wan-Bissaka’s fee being usurped by a South London footballer is if Jadon Sancho were to leave Borussia Dortmund.
The 19-year-old, raised in Kennington and born in Camberwell, has also been linked with United.
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE DEAL
Gary Neville
Steve Parish (Palace chairman)
“We are immensely proud to have been part of Aaron’s development as a player and a person.”
Andros Townsend (Palace footballer)
“Been an absolute pleasure watching him grow game after game…. All the best.”
HLTCO (Palace blog)
“Straight up, if [Gareth] Southgate magically puts him in the senior team immediately, it will confirm big club bias when it comes to national selection.”
RedNBlueArmy.co.uk (Palace blog)
“£50m. For a right-back. The joint 5th most expensive defender of all time. We nearly let him go 2 years ago. For free. United are never waiving £15m on Zaha. This is nothing short of an amazing transfer for Crystal Palace FC.”