Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has given an insight about new signing Eric Bailly’s characteristics and has explained why he thinks the defender will be a success at Old Trafford.
Villarreal’s highly-rated centre-back was Jose Mourinho’s first signing at Manchester United when he signed a four-year contract in June. He was then an unknown commodity, and his staggering price of £30 million (via Transfermarkt) raised a number of eyebrows among the Old Trafford faithful. However, as Mourinho was unveiled as the United boss on Tuesday, he spoke to MUTV explaining why he roped in the Ivorian to the club.
“He is a player who we believe has all the attributes. He is very strong physically and very fast. It’s not so easy to find a fast player when you have quite a big body; he’s a heavy guy, a tall boy who’s really fast,” said Mourinho.
Given the physical nature of England’s top-tier, Bailly’s ferocious presence may benefit Mourinho’s roster considerably. According to Squawka, the Ivorian defensive stalwart averaged a staggering 5.35 clearances and 2.9 interceptions per game. United’s primary centre-back pairing of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind failed to match up to Bailly’s statistics.
Smalling, who began on a strong note, withered as the season progressed. In comparison to the new Manchester United signing, the English defender’s statistics seem to be a tad mediocre. Bailly has made more interceptions and blocks, won more tackles, and cleared his lines more often than Smalling. The Ivorian is also a faster and a more stronger defender than the 25-year-old, and we might even see the Englishman play second fiddle to the new signing as the season wears on.
Mourinho also spoke about Bailly’s versatility and his ability to play in any defensive position. The manager stated:
“For some periods, he played right-back and, because playing in the right-back position demands more from an attacking point of view, it’s good for a centre-back to play some periods as a right-back.”
His positional flexibility would certainly benefit a United squad that was plagued with injuries throughout the course of the 2015/16 campaign. Apart from Blind, most of the side’s defenders were sidelined for lengthy periods of time. For example, Marcus Rojo who is a centre-back by trade, was deployed as a left-back, due to an injury to Luke Shaw.
Bringing Bailly in gives Mourinho an added insurance defensively. His aerial prowess is noteworthy and could prove to be a threat at both ends of the field. Now, it’s all down to man management, and if handled carefully, Bailly – who is still a relatively raw product – could go on to be one of the greatest defenders to grace the Premier League.
