According to ESPN, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has decided to give Eric Bailly another chance at Manchester United.
Bailly is currently working on his fitness after ending the season with a knee injury, with a view to returning in time for pre-season.
Solskjaer reportedly wants Bailly to prove he is right to stick by him during the club’s pre-season campaign.
(photo by Conor Molloy/Action Plus via Getty Images)
Why it makes sense
As far as we are concerned, United should have four main centre-backs next season.
They are Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly, and then a star name.
That could be a Matthijs de Ligt, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Dias, or even Toby Alderweireld.
As the third or fourth man, Bailly deserves a chance to start afresh and try to recapture his 2016/17 form.
Solskjaer was left impressed by Bailly in the game he suffered his injury, telling United’s website: “He is a warrior, he played well today, he was calm, he was composed and it was just unfortunate that he had to come off.”
(Photo by Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)
Bailly, signed for £30m, can still have a part to play, and selling him to another Premier League side would have been a mistake.
We haven’t given up on Bailly just yet, there are worse defenders than him at United. So long as Solskjaer and the board don’t put too much trust in him, and decide to forego signing another top defender too.