George Baker
New contract talks have begun between Manchester United and Eric Bailly
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have opened contract talks with Eric Bailly. Even though Bailly is in his fifth season at the club, he just completed his 100th game for United when they faced AC Milan.
The Ivorian will enter the last year of his current deal with Manchester United next season and talks over a new deal have begun.
Bailly was signed in 2016 from Villarreal but he has yet to cement his place in the side due to recurring injury problems in the last 5 seasons. Only once has he managed more than 20 games in a single campaign. Even this season he has been hampered by injuries.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains a big fan of the 26-year-old though. In the limited games he has played this season, he was rather impressive alongside Harry Maguire.
He played 7 games during the run that propelled United to the top. However, he has missed a bunch of games since then and only returned in the last game against Crystal Palace.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that talks have begun with the player and spoke about how he is becoming more robust so as to not get injured again.
“Yeah, we have started talking to Eric and Eric’s representatives. Eric is keeping fitter for longer and you can see his performances as well. I have been very happy with him.
“His playing style has made him lose too many games [through injury] because 100 games, that’s not enough for the period that he has been here. He is getting more and more robust. He is one we are talking to.”
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Bailly is one of United’s best defenders if he is fit. However, that has been the biggest problem so far. He cannot sustain his fitness for long periods of the season which have resulted in so few appearances so far.
Hopefully, he is able to put it all behind and become a mainstay at the heart of the defence.
