SPECIAL WAN

I can’t go back to my parents’ house now .. the local kids surround it until I come back out says Eagles’ rising star Aaron

IN January, Aaron Wanbissaka’s hopes of a loan were dashed and he resigned himself to turning out for Crystal Palace Under-23s.

Now he is trying to get his head ahead around being hailed on Match of The Day and autograph-hunting youngsters turning up on his doorstep.

Life has changed dramatically for the 20-year-old and his first national newspaper interview is timely, coming the morning after he was praised by Alan Shearer for a man-of-the-match performance against Arsenal.

“It’s the second time that’s happened, it makes me feel proud,” said the right-back.

“The first time was after Fulham and the assist I got. I’ve never seen myself on Match of the Day before so it was good.

“When it happens maybe once more I’ll be used to it, but I like to see it.”

The frenzy when Wan-bissaka goes home has also taken some getting used to.

He said: “I have my own place but can’t really go to my parents’ house right now because every time I do the kids, when they see my car pull in, run straight to my house and keep knocking.

“Even if my dad says, ‘He’s sleeping’ they will wait for me until I leave. The first time I was confused. Like, ‘Wow, how do they know I’m here?’ At the same time it is good. I once looked up to someone like that.”

Given his starring displays, Wan-bissaka’s Palace fan club will be relieved the threat of him being released as a teenager came to nothing.

Speaking at a shoot for the adidas Spectral Mode boot pack, he explained: “Around 14, 15 I was turning up late, was lazy, wasn’t trying in training, looking tired. I was just drifting away with the wrong friends and it was diet stuff too, after school, chicken and chips, fizzy drinks.

“Apparently Palace were looking to release me at 14. They didn’t tell me but my dad did and he sat me down and told me I have to fix up. The way he told me, he was serious. It hit me. I felt his pain so the next season I fixed up and from then I’ve just been shooting up.”

Watching Wan-bissaka (right, tackling Chelsea’s Eden Hazard) it is hard to believe he is relatively new to the right-back position.

He joined Palace at 11 as a Thierry Henry-idolising striker and also played right wing.

But one first-team training session when he impressed against Wilfried Zaha made players and coaches sit up and take notice. Wan-bissaka said: “He couldn’t really get past me and they were saying things like, ‘Let him out your pocket’ and stuff like that.”

He remembers one early right-back run-out for the under-23s “not going well”.

But he stuck with it, put in extra work and his development did not go unnoticed by boss Roy Hodgson, which is why his request to go on loan was refused.

He was given his first-team debut against today’s visitors Tottenham, equally-daunting follow-up starts against Manchester United and Chelsea and has not looked back.

He admitted that before those games, “I don’t really think I was ready, but I was ready to give it my all and show the manager I’ll give everything for him giving me this chance. Now I’m looking forward to them.”

Aaron Wan-bissaka wears adidas Nemeziz boots, available at www. adidas.co.uk/ football