Aaron Wan-Bissaka is looking to continue his fine form as West Ham look to win back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since March against his former team Crystal Palace. 

AWB signed for Palace at 11 years old, coming through the ranks at the Eagles before making his debut in 2018. He went on to make 46 appearances for his boyhood club before a £50m switch to Manchester United.

However, the now 27-year-old insists he’ll be putting sentiment to one side when his former club Crystal Palace arrive at London Stadium on this afternoon.

“It’s always a bit strange for me, playing against Crystal Palace”,  said Wan-Bissaka.“Palace will always mean a great deal to me, because that’s where I first made my name in football, and I’ll always be thankful to the people there for having faith in me.

“But ultimately, you’ve got to put the game first. It was great to get a good reception from both sets of fans when we played away at the start of the season, and thankfully we managed to get the win that day, which is what we’ll be going for again.

Since arriving in East London this summer, Wan-Bissaka has fast become a fans favourite due to his passion and performances on the pitch, even scoring two goals against Arsenal and Newcastle United.

“I’m a West Ham player now, and I’ve really enjoyed it here so far. On the pitch we’ve had ups and downs this season, but we’re all working hard and taking new ideas on, and I’m confident we’re on a good path.

“There have been lots of things to work on. We know that as a defensive unit we need to be tighter than we have been, but that’s something for the whole team to contribute to, like everything.

“We need to concede less, but also score more goals. We’ve been working on that, and hopefully that’s something that will keep improving in the coming days and weeks.

“I think communication is a big thing, and as we’ve all got to know each other better, and continue to do so now with the new boss, that will help us keep getting better.

“Every game is tough in the Premier League, and we’ve had a mixture of results against teams in different positions in the table, so the most important thing we can do is to focus on ourselves.

“We’re aware of our strengths, and we have to be confident of getting a result against anyone we come up against. Hopefully we can go on a strong run now.”

Wan-Bissaka’s passion and excitement is shared by all Hammers fans who can’t wait for the next match as they look forward to seeing what Graham Potter can bring to the club after connecting to the fans more than Lopetegui already, despite being at the club just over a week.