For the first three months of this season, Diogo Dalot was untouchable in the Manchester United side. A lack of competition and an improvement in his own performances under Erik ten Hag had created a perfect storm for the right-back.
Dalot started the first 20 games of the campaign and was one of United's standout performers. He had edged ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka last season and now there was a gulf between the pair. While Dalot was winning praise for his displays, Wan-Bissaka played just four minutes before the World Cup.
So far was he from being a part of the long-term picture, that a right-back to put some pressure on Dalot was initially looked at as a potential January deal. In fact, when Dalot was suspended for United's final game before the tournament started, it was Tyrell Malacia who started as right-back at Fulham.
READ MORE: Ten Hag appointment proving popular with players
So when Dalot picked up a hamstring strain during the World Cup, it looked like it could become a major issue for Ten Hag. At that point, Wan-Bissaka had barely played and didn't seem to fit. He isn't an instinctively attacking full-back and Dalot had mastered the demands of that position under his new manager, making up an extra man in midfield at times.
But the improvement in Wan-Bissaka's game over the last three months is one of the triumphs of the Ten Hag era. If Marcus Rashford is the poster boy for the way this regime can improve players, then Wan-Bissaka isn't far behind.
The 25-year-old was the subject of loan interest from bottom half Premier League clubs in January and could have left but for Dalot's fitness issues. Instead, he has been reintegrated into the side and looks more confident than he has done since the first few months of his Old Trafford career.
Wan-Bissaka's improvement has been so rapid that he was chosen to start both legs of the Europa League play-off round against Barcelona ahead of Dalot and performed admirably in both matches. The £45million signing from Crystal Palace is probably a better defensive full-back than Dalot but his attacking game has improved recently as well.
It's his defensive capabilities that might well see him start ahead of Dalot at Anfield on Sunday. The United right-back will be up against Mohamed Salah for Liverpool and you would have more faith in Wan-Bissaka being able to halt the Egyptian.
Since Dalot returned from a second post-World Cup injury against Leeds he has started five of United's seven games and probably just still edges Wan-Bissaka as the first-choice right-back, but the gap between them is narrowing. The former is yet to hit his pre-World Cup heights.
Those margins became finer still at Wembley last weekend. Dalot was chosen to start but found life difficult against Allan Saint-Maximin. Having been booked inside the first 10 minutes, he was withdrawn at half-time. It was a sensible call from Ten Hag but Wan-Bissaka was quite possibly the best player on the pitch in the second half. That Dalot kept his place in a much-changed team against West Ham on Wednesday suggests it is Wan-Bissaka in line to start against Liverpool.
Dalot is now in a position where he is being challenged for his place more competitively than at any point this season. Right-back has gone from being the spot in the team with no competition to the role where it's hardest to call who has got their head in front.
As Ten Hag has often stressed, competition for places is vital to maintain standards throughout a squad. Having felt there was none in the first half of the season, he is now starting to find selection at right-back much more difficult.
READ NEXT:
