United need to cash in on Eric Bailly to fund signing a better centre-half
Manchester United have recently been invigorated back to life under the new guidance of former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. All the players who just seemed to have lost the plot under Mourinho have all been reborn and are playing for the honor of the manager again.
They have won all of the 4 games that he has been in charge of and have even scored 14 goals during the process – a tally Manchester United fans wouldn’t have even dreamt under Jose’s guidance. All of these factors point towards positive times upcoming at Manchester United.
But they have to be careful, as there are still issues that need to be addressed within the club. Mourinho has left them in a massive ditch and climbing out of that isn’t going to be an easy task. 4 wins on the trot has certainly helped their confidence but it is a long way before the old Manchester United can be witnessed again.
One of the key issues that United need to address is the lack of a strong centre-half with natural leadership qualities. With the current defensive options at United, there is a weakness running through the ranks that is seen in the awful defensive displays between all the different combinations that were deployed by Mourinho.
Under the new manager, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof have been the preferred starting defensive combination. Eric Bailly did start one of the games but found himself sent off and before the final whistle had gone.
This could spell trouble for the Frenchman who signed from Villareal a few seasons ago. He has made just 8 appearances for the Red Devils this term with Jones, Lindelof, Rojo, Smalling and even Matic being preferred over him in the starting role on certain occasions.
While there is no doubt he is a quality player, he is injury prone, careless on the ball and is caught in possession far too often to be a regular in one of the biggest clubs in the world. As he is still a top defender, his market value wouldn’t have dropped too much, also considering that he is just 24 and has a lot of development ahead of him.
His sale could help Manchester United find the signing of a world-class centre-half who would solidify what has been a shaky United backline so far this season. With reports from Calcio Mercato suggesting an interest in Kalidou Koulibaly, the sale of Bailly could be crucial to funding the purchase of the highly rated and even higher priced Napoli defender.
