Serie A giants AS Roma have registered their interest in Manchester United defender Eric Bailly and exploring a chance to sign him on loan or permanent deal this month. Rivals AC Milan are also keeping tabs on Ivorian centre-back who is struggling for game time at Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old ball-playing defender arrived at Old Trafford from Villarreal in 2016 for a reported transfer fee of £30 million. He featured in 25 Premier League matches during his debut season but in the last 4 years, he never made more than 13 league appearances. Injuries and fitness issues are there but lately, he has been warming the bench even if he is fit.
Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof are rotating for the centre-back pair by manager Ralf Rangnick and former boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Bailly has made just 4 Premier League appearances this season and has been overlooked by management despite below-average performances from Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. Manchester United currently sit at 4th position in the league table with 38 points from 22 matches, both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are just 2 points behind with extra games in hand.
AS Roma And AC Milan To Fight For Eric Bailly This Week:
Italian giants AC Milan and AS Roma have registered genuine interest in Bailly and looking to finalise the deal before the transfer window gets closed in the next 6 days. Roma are fighting for the top-four position finish in Serie A this season and AC Milan are mounting a title challenge once again. But Eric Bailly will find it difficult to directly break into the first team at San Siro, who have better quality defenders compared to the Ivorian.
But AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho can offer regular first-team football to Bailly. Giallorossi are playing with 3 centre-back formation and only Mourinho has been rotating players around regular starter Gianluca Mancini. Both Chris Smalling and Roger Ibanez are struggling to perform at the highest level. According to a report from Foot Mercato, Jose Mourinho is a big admirer of Eric Bailly and looking to sign the defender on a short loan deal this month. Bailly signed a contract extension at the start of the last year and has two and half years remaining on his Old Trafford stay.
It was Jose Mourinho who signed Eric Bailly during his managerial stint with Manchester United. Eric Bailly will surely push for this move as his former teammate Chris Smalling’s revived after shifting to Italian capitals. Roma also secured full-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal last week and looking to sign his teammate Granit Xhaka this month to boost their chances for the top-four race this season.