Manchester United's long-awaited Carabao Cup triumph appears to be a tangible marker of the improvements which have been made during Erik ten Hag's relatively brief time at the helm so far, with the Red Devils having gone from looking like a club going nowhere fast last season to now dreaming of further honours before the end of the current campaign.

One man who perhaps encapsulates the turnaround in fortunes at Old Trafford more than most is resurgent defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with the Englishman proving a key figure in Sunday's Wembley triumph over Newcastle United.

It is hard to believe that it was just a matter of months ago that the 25-year-old appeared surplus to requirements at United amid rampant speculation linking him with a January move elsewhere, with the full-back having made just a solitary four-minute Premier League appearance prior to the World Cup break.

The former Crystal Palace man - who was signed from the Eagles for £50m deal in 2019 - had slipped down the pecking order following the appointment of interim boss Ralf Rangnick last term, having played in just seven of the last 25 league games of the 2021/22 campaign.

With team-mate Diogo Dalot installed as the regular option at right-back, there had been suggestions over the summer that Wan-Bissaka would be allowed to depart amid Ten Hag's arrival, with the former England U21 international's early season woes only rubberstamping his slide down the pecking order.

Fast forward to the present, though, and it seems that the battle to nail down a starting berth on the right-hand side of defence is now far more intense, with an argument to be made that it is the Palace academy graduate who should be the "first-choice" pick moving forward, as per Daily Express journalist Alex Turk.

How did Wan-Bissaka play against Newcastle?

Despite having played in nine of United's last ten league games and started both of the Europa League meetings against Barcelona, Wan-Bissaka had somewhat surprisingly found himself on the bench for the clash against the Magpies, with that man Dalot - who has been injured of late - returning to the starting line-up in his place.

That selection somewhat backfired as far as Ten Hag is concerned, as the Portugal international went on to endure a tough first-half up against the lively Allan Saint-Maximin, notably picking up an early booking after preventing the former Nice wizard from bursting away on the counterattack.

The 23-year-old was then undone by a delicious piece of skill from the Frenchman inside the penalty area amid a strong start from Eddie Howe's team, albeit with the unpredictable winger only able to fire his effort straight at the stoic David De Gea.

While that errant display - in which Dalot won just two of his six duels and received a meagre Sofascore  match rating of 6.3 - did not ultimately prove costly, it was no doubt worrying to see the former Porto ace struggle to contain the aforementioned Saint-Maximin.

Those woes unsurprisingly saw Wan-Bissaka enter the fray at half-time, with the £90k-per-week titan enjoying a far more impressive outing up against his opponent, having won eight of his 11 ground duels in that 45-minute appearance and made seven tackles - the most of any player for either team.

The Londoner's front-foot and aggressive approach to defending seemingly worked a treat as he regularly snuffed out the danger for his side, having also not been beaten by Saint-Maximin or his colleagues, while Dalot was dribbled past on two occasions.

That "monstrous" performance - as described by Turk - ensured that the 6 foot brute recorded a 7.6 Sofascore match rating, inferior only to Luke Shaw and goalscorer Casemiro among his team-mates.

Such a display was an indication of the "immense" resurgence that Wan-Bissaka has enjoyed in recent months - in the words of journalist Liam Canning - and it would be no surprise if he goes on to remain the first-choice pick for Ten Hag for the rest of the campaign.

The fact that there is even a debate to be had is a testament to the work done by both the player himself and his manager of late.