Newcastle United have reportedly been offered out-of-favour Manchester United defender Eric Bailly.
According to Daily Mirror, h/t HITC, Newcastle United have been offered the chance to sign Manchester United outcast Eric Bailly. The Ivory Coast international is looking for greener pastures after seeing his game time reduce drastically due to form and injuries.
Bailly moved to Manchester United in 2016 from Villarreal but could not cement a spot in the Red Devils’ back-line. He has often been injured and also has not made the most of the opportunities offered to him. In six seasons, he has made 113 appearances for Manchester United, 38 of which came in his debut season for the club.
Raphael Varane’s arrival last season and Manchester United’s search for a new central defender, which if materialises, will further limit Bailly’s game time, and the club are thus ready to offload him this summer. In the recently-concluded campaign, he made just seven appearances across competitions for the Red Devils.
The 28-year-old is naturally looking for a club where he would play more regularly, and Newcastle United have emerged as an option. The Magpies are targeting a centre-back signing this summer, and Lille’s Sven Botman is on top of their list. However, their pursuit of Botman is not going as planned.
Newcastle were hopeful of signing the defender for £30 million and believed they had a deal in place with Lille. But the Ligue 1 outfit increased their demand to £36 million, which has stalled the transfer. Newcastle are even ready to drop their pursuit, should the 2020/21 French champions fail to lower their asking price.
Bailly has now been offered to the club, and the Magpies are in a position to complete the deal. The former Villarreal defender reportedly earns £80,000 per week at Manchester United, which should not be a problem for Newcastle with new owners now in place.
Bailly has ample experience in English and European football with Manchester United, having won a UEFA Europa League and an EFL Cup title with them. The report by Daily Mirror gives no clarification over whether the move to Newcastle would be a loan or a permanent deal.
