Man Utd blow as Saudi side pull plug on deal with Ten Hag aiming for ‘at least three more sales’
Manchester United have been dealt a blow in their hopes of offloading Eric Bailly this summer after Saudi Arabian Al Nassr pulled out of a deal, according to reports.
The Red Devils have managed to move Zidane Iqbal, Alex Telles, Matej Kovar, Fred and Anthony Elanga to raise around £32m in transfer fees.
And Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag is still hoping he can move some more of his fringe players out with more incomings still dependent on transfers out.
Bailly was one of the key men who Ten Hag was looking to offload with the Ivorian having a contract until next summer and an option of an extra year.
The 29-year-old, who joined Man Utd from Spanish side Villarreal in 2016, has been extremely unlucky with injuries during his time at Old Trafford and made 23 appearances on loan at Ligue 1 outfit Marseille last term.
And now Sky Sports presenter Dharmesh Sheth has brought an update on Bailly’s future with the centre-back losing the option to move to Saudi Arabia.
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Sheth wrote on Twitter: “Manchester United defender Eric Bailly unlikely to join Al Nassr after they turned to Aymeric Laporte. Bailly now exploring other options. He had an offer from Besiktas, but has decided not to pursue that deal. #MUFC”
And the Manchester Evening News claims that Man Utd boss Ten Hag is ‘aiming for at least three more sales’ this summer with the Red Devils remaining ‘intent on overseeing more outgoings’.
They understand Bailly and Brandon Williams ‘have both been told they are free to leave permanently if a suitable offer arrives’.
While the MEN add that ‘United have held discussions over the possible permanent sale of Donny van de Beek to Real Sociedad and the Dutchman was not named in the squad for the opening Premier League win over Wolves.’
However, one player they are struggling to offload is Harry Maguire with West Ham pulling out of deal yesterday after the Premier League side got fed up of waiting for him to decide on a transfer.
Ten Hag offered Maguire hope of a role this season when addressing a possible move away from the club in his pre-match press conference before their 1-0 win over Wolves.
The Dutchman said of Maguire: “He has to fight for his place. He has the ability to be a top-class centre-back and he is the best for England so why shouldn’t he be the best for us? But he has to prove it. When he is not confident enough to fight then he has to go, then he has to make a decision, but I’m happy with him.
“We don’t have a squad with 11 players, and the last year proved definitely we need all the players. That means you need some high-level players who are maybe not starting but that can change so there is an internal competition, everyone has to fight for his place.”