Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Eric Bailly will not be leaving the club this summer, as reports continue to swirl of the Portuguese’s desire to bring in another centre back. Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld are two names that have been heavily linked with the club so far during this transfer window, but as of yet, both have stayed with their respective clubs, as the United manager becomes increasingly frustrated with his club for not delivering his transfer targets.
Still, it’s not all bad news. Even after United’s 4-1 mauling in Saturday afternoon’s friendly with Liverpool, the manager lauded the efforts of Eric Baily, who jumped in to assist the side when Chris Smalling was forced out of the pre-game warm-up, despite being injured himself.
“Bailly was not going to play,” said Mourinho after Saturday’s game via Manutd.com. “But when he saw that (Chris) Smalling in the warm-up was leaving, he decided by himself he did not want another kid on the pitch. It is not fair to Alexis, to Mata, to Herrera, and the guys that are there.
“He is a team boy, he is a great boy. He is an honest man, always ready to give everything for the team. That is why we have him, why we still have him and why he is going to stay with us because football teams need people like him, like Herrera; this kind of people where the club is more important than anything else.”
It’s comforting to know that Mourinho isn’t considering that Bailly will be the odd man out should United bring in another centre back this summer, given that one of the club’s five current senior central defenders will surely have to make way should Maguire or Alderweireld move to Old Trafford. With the Premier League season fast approaching, Bailly will hopefully be an ever-present for Mourinho.
