Marseille ‘unlikely’ to sign Bailly

Elye Wahi (R) of Montpellier HSC and Eric Bailly (L) of Olympique Marseille in action during the soccer Ligue 1 match between Montpellier HSC and Olympique Marseille, in Montpellier, France, 02 January 2023. EPA/Guillaume Horcajuelo

by Staff Reporter

Monday Mar 13, 2023. 11:31

It’s been reported that Marseille could opt against signing on-loan defender Eric Bailly from Manchester United as the Ivorian fails to impress in France.

The African star joined Marseille on loan at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign, as Erik Ten Hag identified his first team set of central defenders.

Prior to Ten Hag’s arrival at Old Trafford, Bailly played second fiddle to Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane under the guidance of former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

After the signing of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax Amsterdam, Bailly was pushed further down the pecking order at United and subsequently joined the Ligue 1 outfit on loan.

However, the French club are now unlikely to keep the Ivorian on board following a period of unconvincing performances, according to L’Equipe, as per Get Football News France.

Bailly missed a chunk of the 22/23 season owing to various injuries and suspensions, which has not helped his case in potentially joining the French side.

Also, Bailly’s loan deal does include a permanent option that would automatically be implemented if the 28-year-old played 19 Ligue 1 matches. However, Bailly featured on nine occasions with 12 games left to play.