Manchester United could make a £20 million loss on Eric Bailly who arrived from Villarreal in 2016, with Newcastle United being offered the chance to sign the defender as an alternative to Lille’s Sven Botman.
That is according to The Mirror, who claim United would now accept as little as £8.5m for the Ivory Coast international, although a source close to the player says they’d ideally hold out for approximately £20m.
There is very little to suggest that Newcastle manager Eddie Howe will take up United’s apparently proposal, but there will be thousands of players ‘offered’ to the Mapgies this summer – all thanks to mainstream media and money-chasing agent. It doesn’t even state that Howe sees Bailly as an alternative to Botman.
The report adds that United have been turned down by Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber because the Netherlands international was concerned by the amount of game time he would receive ahead of the World Cup later this year.
We can only presume this came as a result of a recent conversation the 20-year-old had with Dutch manager Louis van Gaal.
While missing out on a summer move for Timber may be a blow, it makes sense to cash in on players at the club who clearly aren’t good enough. The funds we get for Bailly could easily help us sign a better centre-back.
Ten Hag has a big job on his hands to fix United as a defensive unit before he sorts out our over-reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo in the final third.
