Serie A giants AS Roma have reportedly initiated talks with Manchester United over a summer transfer for Ivorian defender Eric Bailly.
According to reputed Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho is keen to reunite with Manchester United defender Eric Bailly. The two clubs are currently discussing a possible transfer for the Ivory Coast international, who still has two years left on his contract with the Red Devils.
Eric Bailly was Jose Mourinho’s first signing at Manchester United, with the 28-year-old centre-back joining from Villarreal. However, after a solid first season, he has fallen down the pecking order, partly due to the arrival of other defenders and partly due to his injury record.
Bailly has spent the majority of his time at Old Trafford on the injury table, with his game time invariably getting affected drastically. The signings of Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane were also detrimental to his cause, and now with Lisandro Martinez on board at Manchester United, the Ivory Coast international might have a hard time getting regular game time.
He is thus open to leaving Manchester United this summer, and the club are actively looking for potential suitors. AS Roma have emerged as a possible destination for Bailly, who has made a total of 113 appearances for the Premier League giants.
Jose Mourinho currently has the likes of Roger Ibanez, Gianluca Mancini, Marash Kumbulla, Chris Smalling and William Bianda as his central defensive options but is eager to add reinforcements. The AS Roma boss sees Bailly as the perfect upgrade on the players he currently has for the position.
Though Bailly does not have previous experience in Serie A, Smalling has shown that defenders arriving from the Premier League can cut it in Italy, and Mourinho is banking on the same. Manchester United are reportedly asking for a transfer fee of around £10 million to sell the defender this summer.
Bailly was part of Manchester United’s pre-season squad and dropped a couple of commendable performances. But the 28-year-old does not feature in manager Erik ten Hag’s plans going forward and thus looks set for a summer exit.