Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has praised Aaron Wan-Bissaka for his last two performances against Burnley and Nottingham Forest.
The 25-year-old only played four minutes of first-team football before the break for the World Cup, with the right-back missing a lot of action due to injury and illness.
Wan-Bissaka is also firmly behind Diogo Dalot in terms of the starting role on the right side of the defence, but the latter has recently been unavailable due to a hamstring problem that he picked up while representing Portugal at the World Cup.
The Englishman provided an assist in the 2-0 win over Burnley in the EFL Cup on December 21 before playing the full 90 minutes of the 3-0 victory over Forest in the Premier League on Tuesday.
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Ten Hag has said that he has been "happy" with Wan-Bissaka's recent contribution amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future at Old Trafford.
"In the first half of the season, he was either injured or ill, so you don't have a role in the squad," Ten Hag told reporters during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Wolverhampton Wanderers clash.
"He returned, he was in the training camp in Spain, where he could play some games in preparation for the restart.
"Now he has played two games and he is doing really well so I am happy with his performance. But we need that competition in our squad.
"By training (how do you develop his game). By coaching. And he has to play games in the team and then you can develop and then you can grow."
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Wolves, West Ham United and Crystal Palace are all said to be keeping a close eye on Wan-Bissaka's situation at Old Trafford.
Man United are said to be open to letting him leave next month, but Ten Hag said after the game with Burnley that the defender "has a future" at the club.
"Aaron Wan-Bissaka, it is clear he has a future (here)," the Dutchman told reporters. "He's had some good years with United, but from the start of this season he had a lot of illnesses and injuries, and so was running behind.
"His fitness levels are getting better, his performance levels are getting better. When you get an assist, especially the way he got that assist with his movement and the right moment, the timing and then great pass of course from Bruno (Fernandes). But this is great and so I'm happy with his performance. He did good."
Wan-Bissaka is again in line to start against Wolves on Saturday afternoon, with Dalot still struggling to overcome his hamstring issue.
Matt Law
