Patrick Rees
Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Luke Shaw have praised Manchester United’s new acquisition Eric Bailly following his wonderful performances for the club.
The 22-year-old Ivorian defender became Jose Mourinho’s first signing earlier this summer and even though he was an unknown figure in the industry, he cemented his place in the first team with great ease. The defender was voted as the Man of the Match in his first competitive game for the Reds (against Leicester City in the Community Shield game) and also in the encounter against Bournemouth.
“I think Eric has a lot of talent,” Herrera explained to MUTV last week, when asked to assess Bailly’s start to life in England. “He’s a beast, he’s so, so strong, he’s quick and he’s a very smart player. He doesn’t take risks, so that’s important for us because we know when we have the ball, or when he has the ball, he is not going to put the team under trouble.
“When the opponent has the ball we have a very quick player, we can press up because the space is going to be covered by him. He’s very good in the air, very energetic, with every ball in-between he goes like crazy so he wins a lot of balls. He did it well against Jamie Vardy and that’s not so easy because he was one of the best players last season and he felt very good, he won almost every duel.
“We are very happy with him. This season is so long, we have to keep our feet on the floor and Eric is going to be important but he’s still so young and he has to improve a lot.”
Furthermore, the 35-year-old midfielder, Michael Carrick, too gave a glowing review of the youngster:
“Eric seems to really enjoy defending,” Michael told United Review.
“Nowadays, it’s not as common as it used to be – I think defenders in general, around the league, have been concentrating more on playing with the ball. Eric is a true defender. He played really well at Wembley and I am sure he is going to get better and better.”
Bailly’s defensive partner Luke Shaw, who started all three of this season’s competitive games alongside him, also praised the former Villarreal man and said:
“He’s what we need,” Luke told MUTV. “He’s so composed on the ball and at the right times he knows when to clear it or when to play out from the back.
“Defensively he’s been solid, no-one’s got around him and I’m so happy that we have him here. He’s such a good player and from the last few games he’s a very important player for us now as well.”
