Manchester United transfer policy could give two players a second chance in pre-season

If there is one position in the Manchester United starting XI that feels like it is up for grabs in pre-season, then it is almost certainly right-back. Diogo Dalot or Aaron Wan-Bissaka? It's a question that even Erik ten Hag seemed unsure of last season.

Dalot started 38 times last season and Wan-Bissaka 28, but their season was essentially split in two. Before the World Cup Wan-Bissaka managed just four minutes and Dalot started 20 successive games.

In November and early December, it looked a certainty that a new right-back was incoming, possibly as early as January. What nobody saw coming was Wan-Bissaka's revival.

The £45million signing earned an opportunity thanks to Dalot's injury and he took it. He ended the season as first-choice, while Dalot struggled to even get close to the form he had shown in the first half of the season.

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The changing of the guard felt like it was completed at Wembley in February, when Dalot was withdrawn at half-time, having been booked early on for a foul on Allan Saint-Maximin. When Wan-Bissaka came on he kept Newcastle's dangerous winger quiet with an outstanding defensive performance.

It is Wan-Bissaka who will return to Carrington earlier this pre-season as well, giving him the chance to press home his advantage in that battle. Dalot's season didn't finish until June 20 and 90 minutes against Iceland for Portugal.

The 24-year-old might feel like he will benefit from the break this summer. He looked a revelation under Ten Hag in the first half of the season but then lost his way as the campaign went on. If he can rediscover those standards then he might