AC Milan reportedly have reservations over signing Eric Baillym and they are prepared to cool their interest in the Manchester United defender.
According to Calciomercato, AC Milan are ready to bow out of the race to sign Manchester United defender Eric Baily. The Serie A giants have concerns over the fitness issues the Ivorian has endured in recent seasons and believe they might be taking a risk by signing him.
Eric Bailly has often become a curious subject among Manchester United and rival fans. While the 27-year-old arrived in a big-money deal and has delivered some huge performances over the years, his bout with injuries seems to have got the better of him.
Bailly has often missed a chunk of games due to persistent injuries, which has left the Manchester United without the player on important occasions. Even this season, he has delivered some interesting performances, while injuries have restricted him to just four appearances in the Premier League.
Currently away with the Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations, Bailly will hope to remain fit for the rest of the season when he returns to Manchester United. The Red Devils desperately need their best players in top form ahead of their chase for a Champions League place.
However, widespread reports leading up to the January transfer window claimed that Bailly might be attracting the attention of clubs ahead of a possible move this month. AC Milan were supposedly interested in him, as they wanted to bring in a new player to offset some injury issues within their squad.
The Serie A giants have been scouring the market for a new central defender as Simon Kjaer is ruled out for the season. The Rossoneri were linked with Manchester City’s Nathan Ake, although the Dutchman would be an expensive acquisition. That is why Milan switched their attention to alternate targets such as Bailly.
It was reported earlier that Manchester United were willing to negotiate with Milan for the Ivorian, although now things have taken a different turn. After evaluating the defender’s injury history, the Italian club has cooled interest and may look towards other targets.
Bailly himself is said to be interested in joining Milan to revamp his career. However, he will have to wait until the summer for new offers to come in, as he looks destined to stay put at Manchester United for now. Being at the AFCON is not helping his cause either as Ivory Coast seem to have a squad to go the distance in the tournament.