Manchester United are reportedly willing to offer injured central defender Eric Bailly a new contract, as his current one with the English club is set to expire at the end of the 2019-20 season.
The Ivory Coast international, who joined the club in 2016 from Villarreal, signed a four-year deal in 2016, becoming then-manager Jose Mourinho’s first signing.
According to The Sun, Manchester United want the Ivorian to stay at the club despite his injury record as they do not want to lose him on a free transfer, much like what happened with Ander Herrera at the end of the 2018-19 season.
The Red Devils can trigger a clause in his current contract which will extend his stay at Old Trafford to two more years.
The former Villarreal and Espanyol centre-back has made 74 appearances for the club in three seasons, scoring one goal, and winning two trophies – EFL Cup and Europa League.
Several of Manchester United’s first-team players’ contract are expiring at the end of the 2019-20 season, including captain Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic, Matteo Darmian, and goalkeeper David de Gea.
Eric Bailly came to Manchester United with a lot of promise as he was a centre-back with pace, strength, and energy. But a string of injuries and inconsistency have halted his progress.
The Ivorian missed over 25 games last season, playing just 18 games in the entire season across all competitions.
Bailly will be out for the first few months of the 2019-20 season once again due to a knee injury, and has fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United following the arrival of Harry Maguire.
Maguire and Victor Lindelof are the first-choice centre-backs for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Bailly could be their backup if he’s fit and back in form.
The Ivorian has the talent to be a good squad player for United and has to remain injury-free to stand a chance of being in the Red Devils’ squad.
Solskjaer must sell Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, and Marcos Rojo, and make Bailly and young Axel Tuanzebe his third and fourth centre-backs in the squad. Bailly is just 25 years of age, and can still have a good career at Old Trafford.
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