**Wan-Bissaka has been West Ham’s starting wingback for this Premier League campaign, but performances as of late have warranted questions to be raised.**
West Ham have seen a rise in performances as of late, and the surge of points achieved has put Nuno’s side in the running to achieve Premier League safety, something Hammers fans have longed after since the beginning of this anticipated dire season.
Despite the recent improvements in performance, a player that is persistently inconsistent this season has been Wan-Bissaka. The Congolese international has had many ups and downs in a West Ham shirt, and due to certain performances, the debate of him or Walker-Peters seemingly always seems to spark up and with good reason.
Walker-Peters hasn’t been able to get a consistent run of first-team performance since joining the club, with his only consistent run being whilst Wan-Bissaka was away at AFCON, which was a period we suffered immensely from injuries throughout. But despite our woes, the Englishman look very good and clinical, and throughout the substitute appearances that he’s had, he’s been good for us.
Therefore, another debate is raised: change a winning formula, or try something new? It is risky. It doesn’t have a monumental amount of benefits and could be a miserable choice should it go wrong, not to mention, against Aston Villa, Wan-Bissaka is the type of player you’d like to have included within the starting squad, given our opponents.
If the Hammers need a player to make a last-ditch tackle, Wan-Bissaka is the player you would want on the pitch, he’s simply an unbelievable player in that regard.
Walker-Peters offers a different style in his gameplay, an opportunity to pick up the ball and always having the ambition to move forward, make darting runs and help out everyone else. A perfect example would be against Burnley, where he launched forward, nicking a goal after launching himself into the net, quite literally the length of the pitch.
I do believe that against Aston Villa, Wan-Bissaka would be the better player to start, but if his inconsistencies surface even further, a call-up to Walker-Peters may be required to close out the remainder of the season.
We’re fortunate to have the luxury of having both players, and should we stay in the Premier League and keep the pair, I look forward to seeing how Nuno utilises the pair at the beginning of a top-flight campaign.