Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is reportedly looking at a January exit.
According to The Mirror, Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is eyeing a January move away from the club, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur interested.
Bailly, 24, was Jose Mourinho’s first signing as Manchester United boss in the summer of 2016, leaving Villarreal for Old Trafford in a big-money move.
Many expected Mourinho to help Bailly develop into one of the world’s top centre backs, but it hasn’t quite panned out that way, with the Ivorian now struggling to get a game.
Bailly was ultimately blamed for a shock 3-2 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion last month, and hasn’t started a league game since, even being left out completely against Tottenham Hotspur.
Now, The Mirror report that Bailly is keen on a January exit if he doesn’t get more playing time, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur believed to be the leading contenders right now.
It’s claimed that Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is a big admirer of Bailly, and as an Espanyol hero both as a player and manager, it’s no great surprise that he’s a major fan of a recent Espanyol star in Bailly.
Bailly is far from the finished product, but he could follow the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez in improving under Pochettino, but whether United would sell to a direct rival is another matter.
Bailly – earning £75,000-a-week according to The Sun – shouldn’t break the Spurs pay structure, and a deal seeing Alderweireld head to United in exchange for Bailly may just be appealing to all if possible in 2019.
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