According to The Mirror, Jose Mourinho is eager to reunite with Manchester United center-back Eric Bailly at AS Roma.
Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over, the Ivory Coast defender’s future at Old Trafford has been unknown. The 28-year-old had shown a lot of promise before joining United. Jose Mourinho, who was managing United at the time, made him his first signing for almost £30 million.
However, he made the most appearances during the Portuguese era and he also won the Europa League, Community Shield, and League Cup. The former Villarreal centre-back played just 113 times for the Red Devils over the course of the previous six seasons as he had fitness issues.
Solskjaer preferred to keep the centre-back on the bench. The African player struggled to get into games because of his injury history, and this pattern soon persisted even after Ralf Rangnick joined the team.
For current boss Erik ten Hag, the 28-year-old centre-back did a commendable job against Liverpool in the most recent preseason game. The success was, however, short-lived once more when he lost his composure against Aston Villa.
After only 15 minutes on the field, Bailly was shown a yellow card by the referee because of his altercation with Emiliano Buendia. The defender kicked a plastic chair on his way to the changing room after Manchester United conceded a late goal.
Lisandro Martinez’s signing has fueled rumours about Eric Bailly’s future. Ten Hag added the ball-playing centre-back to his roster in an effort to bolster his defensive options. The Dutch manager now has the option to play Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, or Martinez ahead of the Ivory Coast defender.
Even though the defender still has 18 months left on his current contract, it makes sense for him to leave.
The club’s asking price, though, would cast doubt on the agreement. Due to interest from Italian club Roma, the board is willing to consider offers worth £10 million. This would be a loss for the club that had signed him for £30m from Villarreal.
However, the Red Devils would still be happy with the deal as they would be able to get rid of yet another deadwood.
