Wilfried Zaha Reveals Which Former Crystal Palace Teammate Was Toughest Training Opponent

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has claimed he's not surprised by the start Aaron Wan-Bissaka has made to his Manchester United career, and is glad the defender is now getting the recognition he deserves on a global stage.

Wan-Bissaka made the same move from Crystal Palace to United that ex-teammate Zaha made in 2013, but is proving to be a far bigger hit at Old Trafford.

FBL-ENG-PR-CRYSTAL PALACE-WEST HAM

Wan-Bissaka's abilities have been widely praised in the media, with some impressive numbers - both from his time at Palace and at United - showing that their is still a place in the game for an old-school defensive full-back.

Now, former teammate Zaha - who is still with Palace, despite being linked with a move away on numerous occasions - has told a live Q&A, quoted by the Daily Star, that he's not surprised by Wan-Bissaka's impressive start, revealing that he was his hardest opponent in training. 


"Aaron. He is very good, so hard to get past him," Zaha began. "Have I watched him at United? I've watched a few games, what I thought of him is what I thought before.


"Everything that people are saying now - calling him 'The Spider' - we knew before, it is just that he is playing in front of the world now. We were saying it all before but it is nice to see the world know it now."

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Question marks were originally raised last summer when ​United spent a whopping £50m on Wan-Bissaka, even though he was regarded as one of the Premier League's best defenders last season.

But any doubts over Wan-Bissaka's game have been firmly put to rest, with a number of standout performances - particularly of late - demonstrating that he's already one of United's key players.

Were it not for the continued form of Trent Alexander-Arnold - and international pedigree of both Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker - it's likely that Wan-Bissaka would be in consideration for a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad. But for now, he must continue to work harder in order to earn a place in the Three Lions' Euro '2021' squad.


Source : 90min