West Ham: Aaron Wan-Bissaka 'has to defend better' says Julen Lopetegui after unlikely scoring run

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·2 December 2024

West Ham: Aaron Wan-Bissaka 'has to defend better' says Julen Lopetegui after unlikely scoring run

Hammers boss insists right-back must improve defensively after showing his attacking prowess in back-to-back games

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui has told Aaron Wan-Bissaka that he must “defend better”.

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Wan-Bissaka joined the Hammers from Manchester United in August, and the right-back has featured in 12 of the club’s 13 Premier League matches so far this season.

The 27-year-old has only scored four goals in his senior career, but two of them have come in the last week while in West Ham colours, and he has been one of the Hammers’ best players in the first four months of the campaign.

Yet his manager, speaking on Monday, challenged Wan-Bissaka to focus on improving the defensive side of his game, saying it is the key to him becoming an even more important player for the club.

Reminded of Wan-Bissaka’s unlikely goalscoring exploits, Lopetegui said: “I feel he can do better. He has to defend better. If he does that, he's going to increase a lot as a player.

“I am happy when he goes [up the pitch], and he decides to go up always. But he can — and he has to — defend better. For sure, when he does that, he's going to increase his level a lot.”

Mohammed Kudus is finally available for selection again when West Ham face struggling Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night. The Ghana forward returns after serving an extended five-match ban for violent conduct following October’s 4-1 defeat by London rivals Tottenham.

Unlikely scorer: Aaron Wan-Bissaka has netted in back-to-back West Ham games after previously notching just twice in his whole senior career

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“He’s working well,” Lopetegui said of Kudus. “He has played two matches with his national team. He’s working with us. Let’s see what we are going to do.

“We are not going to talk about the lineup. It’s true that he comes back. He is ready. He is happy to come back. It’s one player more to use, so it’s good news for us.”

West Ham’s trip to Leicester will be Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first match in charge of the Foxes, after the Dutchman was appointed this week following the sacking of Steve Cooper.

“I think that Ruud is a very good manager, “ Lopetegui said. “For sure, he has showed this in the teams where he has worked. He has experience in the Premier League. I wish him the best — but after our match.”

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