Quick, versatile, strong and good on the ball, Bailly possesses all the qualities to be the defensive pillar Jose Mourinho will build his side around, writes Kieran Canning
Quick, versatile, strong and good on the ball, Villarreal's Ivorian centre-back Eric Bailly possesses all the qualities to be the defensive pillar Jose Mourinho will construct his Manchester United side around.
Yet, a fee that could rise to €40million once again leaves questions to be asked about United's ability to get value for their seemingly endless wads of cash as Bailly cost Villarreal just €5.7m when he moved south from cash-strapped La Liga rivals Espanyol only 18 months ago.
The 22-year-old was bought to replace the then Arsenal-bound Gabriel Paulista. English viewers won't be surprised to know the Brazilian's presence hasn't been missed at the Madrigal, but Bailly's greater pace and strength make him far more suited to the rigors of the Premier League than Gabriel.
He was the key man in a Villarreal defence that kept 17 clean sheets in La Liga this season to secure fourth place as best of the rest behind champions Barcelona and Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Bailly's displays in the big games will have particularly impressed Mourinho -- who continues to keep a close eye on the talent La Liga offers despite the bitter end to his three-year reign at Real Madrid in 2013.
Villarreal were the only team to shut out Atletico twice over the campaign with Bailly at the forefront of both their 1-0 win at home and a 0-0 stalemate at the Vicente Calderon.
However, his standout display in a yellow shirt came against the newly crowned European champions in the match widely seen as that which sealed Rafael Benitez's fate in his short-lived reign as Real Madrid boss.
Again Bailly was brilliant and showed his versatility as he was deployed at right back to mark Cristiano Ronaldo and latterly Gareth Bale out the game despite suffering from a dislocated shoulder for much of the second-half as Villarreal ran out 1-0 winners.
It was no coincidence that he was absent as Villarreal's hopes of reaching a first ever European final were dashed as Liverpool ran riot in the second-leg of their Europa League semi-final last month.
Marcelino's men had kept five clean sheets in the seven European games Bailly played on their run to the last four, including a 1-0 win over the reds before he pulled up with a hamstring injury late on which ruled him out of the return-leg.
Most impressively of all, though, for a young defender Bailly has demonstrated a willingness and capacity to learn quickly from his mistakes.
His over-confidence on the ball was regularly exposed last season, most notably when Fernando Torres picked his pocket to give Atletico all three points at El Madrigal.
Bailly still has the technical qualities that also saw him become a target for Pep Guardiola's revolution across Manchester at City, but also now has the savvy to clear his lines when necessary that Mourinho will appreciate.
His discipline has also improved. Back in October Marcelino uncharacteristically chastised one of his players in public after Bailly got himself stupidly sent-off just minutes into the second-half against Celta Vigo in a match Villarreal went onto lose
Yet, a fee that could rise to €40million once again leaves questions to be asked about United's ability to get value for their seemingly endless wads of cash as Bailly cost Villarreal just €5.7m when he moved south from cash-strapped La Liga rivals Espanyol only 18 months ago.
The 22-year-old was bought to replace the then Arsenal-bound Gabriel Paulista. English viewers won't be surprised to know the Brazilian's presence hasn't been missed at the Madrigal, but Bailly's greater pace and strength make him far more suited to the rigors of the Premier League than Gabriel.
He was the key man in a Villarreal defence that kept 17 clean sheets in La Liga this season to secure fourth place as best of the rest behind champions Barcelona and Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Bailly's displays in the big games will have particularly impressed Mourinho -- who continues to keep a close eye on the talent La Liga offers despite the bitter end to his three-year reign at Real Madrid in 2013.
Villarreal were the only team to shut out Atletico twice over the campaign with Bailly at the forefront of both their 1-0 win at home and a 0-0 stalemate at the Vicente Calderon.
However, his standout display in a yellow shirt came against the newly crowned European champions in the match widely seen as that which sealed Rafael Benitez's fate in his short-lived reign as Real Madrid boss.
Again Bailly was brilliant and showed his versatility as he was deployed at right back to mark Cristiano Ronaldo and latterly Gareth Bale out the game despite suffering from a dislocated shoulder for much of the second-half as Villarreal ran out 1-0 winners.
It was no coincidence that he was absent as Villarreal's hopes of reaching a first ever European final were dashed as Liverpool ran riot in the second-leg of their Europa League semi-final last month.
Marcelino's men had kept five clean sheets in the seven European games Bailly played on their run to the last four, including a 1-0 win over the reds before he pulled up with a hamstring injury late on which ruled him out of the return-leg.
Most impressively of all, though, for a young defender Bailly has demonstrated a willingness and capacity to learn quickly from his mistakes.
His over-confidence on the ball was regularly exposed last season, most notably when Fernando Torres picked his pocket to give Atletico all three points at El Madrigal.
Bailly still has the technical qualities that also saw him become a target for Pep Guardiola's revolution across Manchester at City, but also now has the savvy to clear his lines when necessary that Mourinho will appreciate.
His discipline has also improved. Back in October Marcelino uncharacteristically chastised one of his players in public after Bailly got himself stupidly sent-off just minutes into the second-half against Celta Vigo in a match Villarreal went onto lose
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