#2 Eric Bailly
Jose Mourinho is known for preferring a strong spine to his team anchored by a defensive totem and to fulfil this criterion at Old Trafford, he chose Villarreal’s, Eric Bailly. Purchased for a sum of £30 million, the 23-year old was the Portuguese’s first signing for Manchester United and what a signing he has been!
The Ivorian’s 25 Premier League appearances have seen the Red Devils keep 12 clean sheets and Bailly make 60 tackles whilst recovering the ball an astounding 172 times in those matches. He has also been a safe outlet for the ball in defence with all of 0 errors leading to goals and an average of 35 passes per match.
Bailly has displayed the characteristics of an all-around defender who can tackle as well as play the ball in a way which often exceeds his FIFA 17 rating of 83. After an impressive 2017 campaign, we expect EA to increase Bailly’s ratings by at least 2 points to a total of 85.
