Manchester United are set to sign their first player this season and it isn’t going to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede is still on Manchester United’s wish list, but Villarreal’s Eric Bailly seems to be the player that Jose Mourinho has earmarked to fix the Premier League side’s defence.
Bailly really shot to fame after a wonderful season with Villarreal, the La Liga club had one of the meanest defences in the league and are set to play Champions League football next season, but the side is a selling club and it comes as no surprise that one of the biggest teams in the world is after the Ivorian.
The 22-year-old started his career at Espanyol in 2011 aged just 17. The defender also had issues with a work permit, but that was dealt with within a year of him moving to Spain. His impressive performances for the B team got him a chance in the senior side and after just one season with the first team, Bailly was bought by the Yellow Submarines, Villarreal.
Bailly is a ball playing defender and is known for his short range passes, he is also known for his dribbling ability, though we do not know how much of that will be helpful to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, but at least the 22-year-old does not go around making scary passes, akin to Mamadou Sakho or even Martin Skrtel.
The Villarreal defender also is great at tackling, but that does have a few problems in itself. He seems to be a little too aggressive and has a history of getting booked, in fact, he was sent off on his debut for Villarreal.
His timing for certain tackles is a little off also and he does commit way too many fouls which often gets him booked early in the game and he becomes suspect for a sending off. Another issue with him is when he tries to hold on to the ball using his strength, he has been caught out way too often with the ball at his feet and that does lead to a lot of problems for his side.
Bailly though is one of the best defenders in La Liga and if he is under a manager who is known for his defensive ability, he will get better with time. Manchester United will have to fork out around £30 million but it could be peanuts if Bailly does fulfil his potential under Mourinho.