Manchester United defenders Eric Bailly and Phil Jones plan to leave this summer amid the club’s interest in signing a new centre-back, Manchester Evening News.
The Red Devils are set to oversee several departures during the off-season. Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Lee Grant will leave at the expiry of their contracts.
United have the option of extending Nemanja Matic’s deal for another year, but the Serbian has publicly confirmed that he will be pursuing a fresh challenge elsewhere next season.
Alongside those six players, it appears Bailly and Jones could head for the exit door. The former is said to be disgruntled by his lack of starts despite the inconsistent form of Harry Maguire.
Jones, on the other hand, has been a regular in the matchday squads after a long-term knee injury, but has made just two league starts. He also appears keen on restarting his career elsewhere.
Our view:
Bailly’s career with United has been plagued by several injuries. This has partly contributed to his inability to cement a regular starting role under different managers.
When he signed a new deal in April last year, it seemed he could turnaround his Red Devils career. However, he has only dropped down the pecking order with Raphael Varane’s arrival.
Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof have been the regular choices ahead of him this term. Interim boss Ralf Rangnick has also preferred Jones in recent times while leaving him on the bench.
Bailly may already have played his final game for the club. United will be hoping to recoup a decent fee from his sale to aid their summer pursuit of a new centre-back which could be Pau Torres.
Meanwhile, Jones has spent the past few years on the sidelines with a troublesome knee injury. He recently expressed the desire to play regular first-team football to prove his credentials.
The England star was not keen on joining relegation-threatened Bordeaux in Ligue 1 last winter. This probably suggests that he has his sights on continuing in the Premier League next term.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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