Fans: Man United have wasted Bailly

Fans believe Manchester United have wasted the career of Eric Bailly following reports that the Ivory Coast international is among players set to leave the club this summer.

Bailly just signed a new four-year contract in April 2021 but he is already agitating for a move after being frustrated with his lack of playing time in the last two seasons, making only six starts this campaign, as he has fallen behind captain Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United accept they made a mistake to hand Bailly the new deal and a section of fans feel his career was doomed even before the fresh terms.

Eric Bailly has felt so aggrieved by his paucity of opportunities he openly questioned why underperforming teammates continued to start, primarily referring to fellow central defender Harry Maguire. [@samuelluckhurst] #MUFC

— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) May 5, 2022

“Man United are so bad dat [that] they always start the bad and error-prone players on the pitch and keep the goods ones on the bench for the past four season now,” said @krooney51, who feels Bailly should be starting ahead of some of his team-mates.

He added: “Just as they said Man United is a commercial club.”

“He definitely should’ve been given more games,” commented @starch999 in support of Bailly.

“Best CB [centre-back] at the club,” @sturatrogers_10 also agreed with them.

However, some fans think Bailly’s woes are down to his numerous injuries.

“He's always injured,” replied @rnn_andD. He went: “No manager will pick a player for centre-back partnership if they know he will be injured in no time. If he can actually stay fit when he gets the chance to start, he'd be starting.”

“He plays two matches and he's injured. How can he make it into the team or even develop a partnership?” posed @rnn_andD.

“Bailly talks, opens his mouth and pulls a hamstring. The lad is made of glass,” was @TheMadBumble’s observation.

With former Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure trending on Thursday for allegedly ‘cursing’ Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to never win the Champions League, some fans feel Bailly may need to do the ‘same’ to earn a place in the team.

“Ralf [Rangnick] will make this Ivorian curse him. Ivorian voodoo does work,” said @_phaya with @joesacky responding “He should curse the team for me. That's all I want.”

Bailly, who joined United six years ago, has made 113 appearances while scoring one goal for the club with injuries hampering his career most of the time.

There are reports that French clubs Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais as well as Newcastle United and AS Roma, currently managed by former United coach Jose Mourinho, are keen on his services should he leave the Red Devils.

Has Bailly’s career been wasted at Manchester United? Share your thoughts below.