Eric Bailly Impresses Again

Eric Bailly Impresses Again

Eric Bailly’s £30 million move to Manchester United this summer certainly raised a few eyebrows. The centre back was relatively unknown to most football fans outside of Ivory Coast and Spain, but the 22-year-old has taken United by storm in the few appearances he’s made since joining.

The Ivorian won the Man of the Match award after United’s 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester, and did the same again today as the Red Devils brushed past Bournemouth in the Premier League winning 3-1.

Bailly has been hugely impressive with his pace and power at the back, the tough tackler has already been compared to Nemanja Vidic. Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp was also left impressed by Eric Bailly’s performance against Bournemouth, saying the former Villarreal defender is a “midfielder’s dream”.


“I was so impressed with Bailly,” Redknapp said on Super Sunday.

“He’s a rough diamond. We all make mistakes. He’s raw, he’s quick. I watched his first game against Wigan and he kept diving in and I thought he’s got a lot to work on. But he’s a midfielder’s dream because he can also play. He’ll pop the ball into midfield at times, he’s got great pace, he’s uncompromising. Man Utd fans are going to love him.”

“He is a very, very good defender. He doesn’t mess around – when it’s got to go, he’ll kick it forward. He is very strong and could be money well spent. [He played] Alongside Daley Blind, who I also thought played very well today. Before the game, I thought they’d have problems with the front three of Bournemouth but they didn’t really. They were composed and I was very impressed with Bailly.”

Redknapp also praised United’s new boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored the 3rd goal of the game from 25 yards out.

“[Ibrahimovic] did some great things in the second half. He was so relaxed, floating around, at times. They are going to love him there [at Old Trafford]. I still think how much better he’ll be when he gets people running off him, people like [Marcus] Rashford, who want to run the other way because he wants to come to the ball a lot.”

“In terms of his debut, he will be well satisfied.”

[Quotes via Sky Sports]