Manchester United have a long-term interest in Norwich star Max Aarons (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United want to sign Max Aarons in January to compete with Diogo Dalot after Erik ten Hag’s comments on Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

That’s according to the The Sun, who are reporting that United will look to bring in Aarons from Championship club Norwich City when the transfer window opens.

United have a long-term interest in the 22-year-old right-back and were linked to him this summer as they considered using Ethan Laird as part of a swap deal.

Aarons, who has 20 caps for England U21s, has played 173 games for Norwich across the Premier League and Championship, helping them win the second-tier title twice.

He was crowned EFL Young Player of the Year for 2018-19 and has twice been named in the EFL Team of the Season and PFA Championship Team of the Year.

United want to sign him to provide competition for starter Dalot at right-back, following Ten Hag’s recent remarks about Wan-Bissaka.

Ten Hag appeared to simultaneously praise Dalot and criticise Wan-Bissaka following United’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.

Dalot has emerged as one of Ten Hag’s most trusted players, having so far started every single game for United this season.

Having struggled for regular game time at United since moving from Porto in 2019, the 23-year-old is enjoying arguably the best form of his career and his manager was keen to praise the Portugal international post-match.

‘I’m really happy with the development of Diogo,’ Ten Hag told Sky Sports.

‘His defensive positioning is growing from game to game, his time, also duels, are better from game to game and in possession I think he’s really good.’

However, Ten Hag also appeared to aim a dig at United’s other right-back Wan-Bissaka, who has played just four minutes of football this campaign, coming on as a late substitute in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in August.

The Dutchman added: ‘He [Dalot] has the breath to go up and down [the flank] so the development is really good, but I have to mention, I think a club like Man Utd need two good full-backs because we have a lot of games to cover.’

Wan-Bissaka had been unavailable for selection since mid-September due to a back injury, but was said to be back in contention for the West Ham clash.

However, he was not included in the squad on Sunday, but even prior to his injury it was clear that the £50m full-back was not fancied by Ten Hag, with Dalot or Laird starting ahead of Wan-Bissaka in pre-season.

Bringing a new right-back to Old Trafford was seen as a priority over the summer and will be again when the transfer window re-opens in January.

MORE : Erik ten Hag explains Man Utd’s decision to play La Liga side during World Cup break

MORE : Graeme Souness takes another swipe at Manchester United midfielder Casemiro

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