Man Utd flop Ten Hag won’t pick finally ‘on course’ for permanent exit; Red Devils set to make huge loss
Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is reportedly close to joining French club Marseille this summer, with Erik ten Hag happy to sell him.
The Red Devils are trying to get several high-earners off the books as they look to generate funds for more incomings before the transfer window slams shut.
Bailly is currently way down the pecking order at Man Utd and is unlikely to get any minutes if he doesn’t move on.
The likes of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and now Jonny Evans are all preferred by Ten Hag.
The Ivorian signed for Man Utd for £30m back in 2016 but he has never lived up to his potential at Old Trafford.
Bailly has made 113 appearances for the Red Devils overall. He spent last season on loan with Marseille, where he made 23 appearances across all competitions.
The centre-back struggled for form at the French side, but it seems that they are keen on signing him permanently, which is good news for Man Utd.
According to Sky Sports News, Bailly is ‘not part of Ten Hag’s plans’ and is ‘on course’ to sign for Marseille this summer.
Marseille are yet to table a formal offer, though are described as ‘pushing’ to re-sign the player and ‘are expected to formalise their interest in the coming days’.
It’s fair to say Man Utd won’t recoup anything close to the £30m they paid for Bailly, though.
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Ten Hag will hope to put the funds generated from Bailly’s sale to good use. He is currently looking to bring in a new midfielder, as well as a new defender.
Sofyan Amrabat has long been considered to be Man Utd’s top midfield target. Liverpool are firmly in the race for his signature, though, so there could be a bidding war for the Fiorentina star in the final days of the transfer window.
In terms of new defenders, Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo seems to be the most likely signing for Man Utd at the moment.
Reports suggest Todibo is ‘nearing’ a move to Old Trafford, with Nice demanding a fee in the region of £34m for his services.
The 23-year-old would undoubtedly be an upgrade on Bailly, so it will be interesting to see if Man Utd complete the signing of Todibo after offloading Bailly to Marseille, as expected.
