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Manchester United are a club synonymous with transfer failures, with their desperation to return to the top often leading to misguided decisions in the market that have racked up over time.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2012 retirement, the entire progression of the club has been around returning them to that level at any cost.
However, so many top managers have now been and gone at Old Trafford, with the likes of David Moyes, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and many more all failing to make the Red Devils realistic challengers once again. It is worth noting that they surpassed the £1bn mark when it came to transfer spending since the legendary Scotsman’s departure, and that was three years ago. That is a figure certain to be much higher now.
Erik ten Hag is the latest to take a swing at it, but even he seems to be struggling after an admirable first campaign in charge.
Whilst there are too many failed acquisitions to outline them all, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria marking just a couple of the most lucrative, one of the biggest disappointments actually came with Eric Bailly, who promised much following his £30m move, but ultimately failed to deliver.
How good was Eric Bailly?
Given how dominant the Ivory Coast international had been for Villarreal despite his youth, many assumed that the centre-back would mark a fine investment set to star in the present and for the long-term future.
After all, he boasted all the necessary attributes to thrive in a modern-day defence, as a strong, powerful and aerially-dominant ace capable of playing out from the back with ease. As such, in his final year in La Liga, he would maintain a 77% pass accuracy and a 94% dribble success rate, partnered with 2.6 interceptions and 4.7 clearances per game.
He would then translate such form into a fine debut year, as his 7.25 average rating was facilitated by an 86% pass accuracy, 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game as well as five clearances per game, via Sofascore.
However, that was arguably his only impressive season with injuries then ravaging a promising career, taking away the speed that made him so useful, and the confidence that oozed through him when he first emerged onto the world stage.
The 29-year-old would then fail to make more than 11 league starts in the five seasons that followed, emphasising such persisting ailments.
Bailly would endure seven torrid years with the Red Devils, overseen by four different permanent managers, and yet would only muster up an abysmal 113 total appearances. He has since joined Besiktas on a free transfer, but not before journalist Sam Tighe outlined just how bad a potential signing it could have been for Newcastle United: “Eric Bailly might genuinely be the worst signing they could possibly make. Just absolutely no case for it whatsoever.”
One particularly woeful afternoon for the 49-cap flop came in 2021, as the talkSPORT team sought to dig him out for his role in helping Manchester City win yet another derby. Pundit Trevor Sinclair would first note: “What is Bailly doing? That is poor defending. If you can’t divert it away from goal, don’t touch the ball! See if you can let it run. We’re not surprised, are we? He’s a rash defender and he seems like he’s always got a mistake in him and he’s got it out the way early.
Eric Bailly’s seasons at MUFC |
PL starts |
---|---|
2021/22 |
3 |
2020/21 |
10 |
2019/20 |
1 |
2018/19 |
8 |
2017/18 |
11 |
2016/17 |
24 |
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and the ship has sailed for Bailly. He’ll never be the composed defender Man United need.”
Then, former United assistant Steve McClaren would pile on, claiming: “Bailly on both occasions is the culprit. Mistakes, bad bad defending.”
If one performance could sum up Bailly’s Manchester United career, then that was it. Mistake-prone and riddled with injuries, resulting in a costly waste of money.
What was said about Eric Bailly when he first signed?
However, as aforementioned, expectations were high after he had first signed, with many rushing to praise such business.
Mourinho, the man who tempted him to Manchester, would laud the potential and progression of his newest signing in 2016: “Eric is a young central defender with great natural talent. He has progressed well to date and has the potential to become one of the best around. We look forward to working with him to help nurture that raw talent and fulfil his potential. Eric is at the right club to continue his development.”
However, it was a piece written by the Manchester Evening News that has truly aged poorly, as they suggested that the centre-back had all the attributes to be the club’s new Nemanja Vidic.
Such a comparison was born from Bailly’s claims after joining, as he had suggested: “I like John Terry, but, especially, Vidic. I watched them both on television when I was in Spain. They are very strong and powerful, like I try to be. Terry plays well and plays the ball well but Vidic was more hard and played really hard. He was my favourite player at Manchester United and in the Premier League. I want to be like him with my performances for United.”
Having won all there was to win with United across his eight-year tenure there, it should come as no surprise that a young defender aspired to reach the level of a man who made it into four different PFA Team of the Years and kept 23 clean sheets during the 2008/09 season, conceding just 16 goals.
He was a defensive rock and someone who earned huge praise from Ferguson for his warrior-like personality: “How many centre-halves can you name who actually like defending? Vidic liked it. He loved the challenge of sticking his head in there. You could tell that the thrill of contesting those 50-50 balls animated him”.
Then, former teammate and partner Rio Ferdinand would supplement such a claim: “He became a defender that was feared. He could fight with the most physical, he crunched into tackles, he attacked the ball better than anyone I’ve ever seen. But as he will tell you with a smile, he could also play with the ball too, which made him complete and a great defender.”
Ironically, whilst the Serbian destroyer remains a legend around Old Trafford, he too endured an injury-hit spell with Inter Milan before calling time on a glittering career. Perhaps, in the end, Bailly did turn out like the 41-year-old. Just not in the way he had hoped.