Ray Parlour has said that the fee being mooted to bring Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United is “absolute madness”.
A previous report [The Times] had suggested that the Red Devils had had a £40million bid rejected for the Crystal Palace defender, with the Eagles said to be holding out for as much as £65million.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast programme [Monday, 7:20am], former England international Parlour added that the reported fee for the 21-year-old was “crazy”.
“It is madness, absolute madness,” the 46-year-old said. “I really like him, I think he’s an excellent player and I’ve seen him on quite a few occasions.
“His defending is very good and he gets forward. But for £65million, it’s crazy.
“Look at those Ajax youngsters, they’re only young. They’ve not really done anything yet. They’ve really shown that they can play in an Ajax shirt and have done really well in the Champions League but they’re going for £70-80million as well.”
OPINION
Parlour makes a very good point here. While Wan-Bissaka is certainly an exciting talent, there is no way he is worth as much as £65million. £40million – which has reportedly been offered – is as high as United must go. Those who would justify Wan-Bissaka being worth £65million – Palace perhaps – would probably say that he is only 21, he is English and he has a very exciting future ahead of him. Those three factors would certainly add up to a hefty fee, but £65million is a bit of a step too far. As Parlour points out, there are Ajax players who could command such fees and they did more than Wan-Bissaka in terms of winning trophies last term with their Eridivisie title. Matthijs de Ligt, for example, is currently on course to become the best defender in the world and at the age of 19, you would think he would command £75million upwards. No disrespect to Wan-Bissaka – he too is going to be a fantastic player – but to put him in the price bracket of the likes of De Ligt is indeed crazy.