Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Manchester United could accept a bid for Eric Bailly later in the transfer window.
The 28-year-old has been at the club since 2016 but has found his game time to be sporadic, while his injury history has not helped his case.
He has made 70 Premier League appearances but was restricted to just four matches in the top flight last term, spending 217 minutes on the pitch.
Meanwhile, he has come in for praise during pre-season, mainly thanks to his ‘impressive’ showing against Liverpool in a 4-0 victory where he created the fourth with a strong challenge before striding out of defence in Yaya Toure-like fashion.
However, Romano believes that United may still be open to selling the defender, with the impending arrival of Lisandro Martinez pushing the Ivorian closer to the exit.
Speaking on The United Stand, he said: “He’s desperate to play and he’s doing very good in pre-season because when he has the chances to play, he’s super happy.
“So his dream is to play at Manchester United, but with Varane, Maguire and, of course, with Lisandro, it’s not going to be easy. So at the moment, it’s still with Manchester United open to discuss for Bailly in case they will receive proposals.
“There is this story about Roma, but at the moment, I’m told that Roma have different priorities after signing [Paulo] Dybala. So the centre-back will be something that they will discuss in the next weeks.
“So let’s see if they will decide to go for Bailly or not, but at the moment, I’m told there is still nothing imminent and we will see. But at the moment, I think he is one of the players who could be leaving Manchester United in August.”
TIF Thoughts on Bailly and United…
Do you think it is time United cashed in on Bailly due to his injury problems?Yes
No
|
The Daily Mirror has previously claimed that it may take as little as £8.5m for a potential bidder to sign the 46-cap ace, with Newcastle reportedly interested.
Considering the club have agreed a £57m deal to sign Martinez, you would expect the Argentinian to come straight into the starting lineup, and with Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane also available to Erik ten Hag, it does seem plausible that Bailly could be the man on the chopping block, so if a suitable proposal arrives, the Red Devils may yet decide to bid farewell.