Aaron Wan Bissaka demanding “multi-million pound pay-off” to leave Man Utd – Man United News And Transfer News

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Aaron Wan-Bissaka is demanding a “multi-million pound pay-off” to leave Manchester United this summer amid interest in the right-back from West Ham and Inter Milan.

The 26-year-old has one year remaining on his deal at Old Trafford after the club decided to trigger a one-year extension in his contract over the Christmas period.

This means Wan-Bissaka will leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2024/25 season and be able to test the lucrative free agency market. Players who join new clubs on free transfers are often able to command a sizable signing on fee as there is no transfer cost involved in the deal.

If Wan-Bissaka was to remain in Manchester past this summer, he would be able to begin negotiations with clubs over potential moves from January.

United are acutely aware of this prospect and are keen to sell their defender to recoup some of the £50 million fee they paid Crystal Palace for his services in 2019, rather than losing him for free next year.

West Ham have been strongly linked as a destination for Wan-Bissaka and the 26-year-old is reportedly “open to joining” the London club. However, Matt Hughes (The Sun) reveals the Hammers “cannot afford his wage demands”, leaving the “deal in limbo” despite an £18 million price being agreed.

And it’s for this combination of reasons – the prospect of a free agency payday and West Ham’s inability to match his wage packet at Old Trafford – that has led to Wan-Bissaka’s demands for a pay-off by United to leave the club this summer.

Hughes describes the fullback as “refusing to sell himself short” with his representatives “pushing for United to give the player a chunk of the £18 million fee” they will receive from West Ham to seal the deal.

Inter Milan are “interested” in signing Wan-Bissaka but appear content to revisit a move in January, when the 26-year-old can begin negotiations over a free transfer.

United are actively pursuing a deal for Noussair Mazraoui, the Bayern Munich fullback who previously played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, as a replacement for Wan-Bissaka, but the club’s budgetary restrictions mean they need to sell the English right-back to fund a move for the Moroccan.

Wan-Bissaka’s representatives will be mindful of this tricky situation for officials at Old Trafford and be seeking to exploit it to get their client the best possible financial package this summer, as is their job.

It will be a test of Ineos’ resolve in their first transfer window at the helm at United to see how much they yield to the demands of an existing player in order to secure the transfer of a new one, given the precedent it could set for others moving forward.

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