Eric Bailly: Manchester United defender subject to transfer interest from AS Monaco

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has been subject to intense transfer speculation this summer with AS Monaco being the latest club to showcase their interest in the Ivorian.

Bailly definitely looks like he wouldn’t be getting the playing time he thinks he deserves this season under Erik ten Hag and it seems a transfer will be best for all parties.

The expressive centre-back showed intent to stay at Manchester United at the beginning of the summer, however, it now looks like he has accepted his fate at the club.

Eric Bailly (Alamy)

Bailly has garnered interest from multiple clubs already, none showing more interest than Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma among other clubs like Fulham and Sevilla.

According to trusted French outlet L’Equipe, AS Monaco are looking to sign Eric Bailly on loan with an option to buy.

Manchester United want to sell him and have so far refused all loans, including from AS Roma.

Bailly could only make seven appearances for Manchester United in all competitions last season with Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelöf all being ahead of him in the pecking order.

Now, with the signing of Lisandro Martinez, it looks even more unlikely that Bailly will gain a starting spot under Ten Hag.

L’Equipe say United want to sell him and amid a host of other clubs, Monaco have also joined the race for the Ivorian.

AS Monaco are already close to signing Malang Sarr on loan from Chelsea, but are also wanting to add Bailly to their squad.

The only issue with Bailly’s move is whether he will agree to take a considerable wage cut from his over £4 million per year salary at Manchester United.

Meanwhile, according to ESPN, Bailly is looking to make progress on his exit from Manchester United as quickly as the end of this week.

The report states: “Eric Bailly is hoping to make good progress on his desire to leave Old Trafford later this week. He is keen to seal a move away before the transfer window closes.”

Bailly hasn’t made a big impact in any of his five seasons with Manchester United, due to fitness and injury issues.

It is probably for the best that the Ivory Coast defender has decided to leave Old Trafford as he reportedly already had a word with Erik ten Hag who gave no indication to make him a priority in his team selection in the 2022-23 season.

Eric Bailly (Alamy)

Bailly made a positive start to his Manchester United career as he started 24 Premier League matches in his first season at the club.

However, his availability became scarce season-after-season as he continued suffering back-to-back knocks and injuries, thus hampering his progress at the club.