Manchester United opinion: Manchester United shouldn’t let go of Eric Bailly
According to reports from the Sun a few months ago, Lyon were looking at Manchester United’s Eric Bailly as a priority signing for this summer. The Ivorian international, 25, joined United in the 2016/17 season and was Jose Mourinho’s first signing at the club.
The Ivorian enjoyed a fantastic first season of the club and was poised for a great future. He showed his speed, strength and ability to defend in a 1-versus-1 scenario.
There was a case to be made that he was the best player for United that season, where they won the League Cup and Europa League.
His second season was marred with injuries. However, when he played he always performed. A highlight being his colossal performance against Liverpool at home after coming straight back from injury.
He also ended up scoring an own goal in that game which in a way sums up Bailly. He looks like the best defender in the world on his day but can come up with something dreadful any second.
Jose Mourinho couldn’t depend on Bailly anymore though, as the Ivorian was unavailable far too often. This translated on the pitch, as Bailly was no longer first-choice centre-back when fit and lost his confidence and form.
Lyon have shown that they can reignite the careers of players who might have not had the best time at the Premier League. Memphis Depay and Jason Denayer are evidence of that.
Bailly, unfortunately, suffered an injury against Chelsea at the end of the season as well but Solskjaer should show patience. Bailly has many attributes that are lacking in the other defenders in the United set up. United are currently lacking that one world-class defender who could complement the likes of Bailly and Lindelof.
If the news is true and Manchester United are going to sign Harry Maguire, there is a possibility that a great partnership could be formed. Maguire is fantastic in the air and bringing the ball out the back but lacks the pace of the very top defenders.
Bailly is one of the fastest centre-backs out there and is extremely tenacious. There’s a possibility that such a partnership would help Manchester United massively in theory.
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Conclusion
Manchester United must give Bailly another year with a good centre-back to partner him with and if it still doesn’t work out, they could look for buyers in January or next summer. For now, they should still hold onto the Ivorian.