Jose Mourinho made his first signing as Manchester United’s coach by bringing in Ivorian defender Eric Bailly from Spanish side Villareal. The central defender joined the Red Devils from the Spanish side on a four-years contract which could be extended further for two more years.
Bailly who has appeared 15 times for his country Ivory Coast joined the Yellow Submarines just 18 months back. he has been pipped by the Portuguese coach as the next Sergio Ramos and that is probably why United went for him since they could not get the Real Madrid captain. Although Ramos is the more experienced one of the pair but what Bailly lacks in experience he makes up for in strength and toughness.
“Eric is a young central defender with great natural talent. He has progressed well to date and has the potential to become one of the best around,” former Chelsea manager who took over from Louis van Gaal in May, said.
The young Ivorian has played 47 times for Villareal since joining from Espanyol back in 2015. He was part of Villareal’s defence line that conceded only 35 goals in 38 La Liga matches last season. The signing of Eric Bailly is a good one for Manchester United as they look to build up a good team and challenge for the Premier League title next season. The player believes that working with the current United coach would help him develop in the right way, at the right club. He would most likely mount the central defence position along side Chris Smalling in the coming season.