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Defenders Eric Bailly and Phil Jones have informed their Manchester United teammates of their intention to leave in the summer, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Both Eric Bailly and Phil Jones have fallen down the pecking order since the arrivals of Harry Maguire and then Raphael Varane. Games have been hard to come by for the defensive duo, with Ralf Rangnick preferring to start Victor Lindelof in case of any injuries to Maguire or Varane.
Eric Bailly joined United back in 2016 under the management of Jose Mourinho. In his six years at the club, the Ivory Coast defender has managed to make just 113 appearances across all competitions. He has also made just seven appearances for the Red Devils this season.
It is worth mentioning that Bailly penned a new three-year extension only last summer. However, according to the aforementioned source, Manchester United have silently accepted that offering him a new deal was a major error.
This could also be put down to United's former executive vice chairman Ed Woodward's strategy to tie down players to longer contracts in order to increase their resale value.
Phil Jones, on the other hand, has been one of the forgotten players at Manchester United, having made just five appearances this season. The Englishman still has another year left on his contract but seems highly unlikely to fulfill it next season.
With two defenders expected to leave in the summer, Manchester United will be in search of a new centre-back in the transfer window. According to ESPN, United are interested in signing Villarreal defender Pau Torres in the summer.
The Red Devils were also interested in Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger. However, the German international is expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer at the end of the season, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Many other players are expected to leave Manchester United in the summer
The summer of 2022 is expected to be massive for Manchester United. The arrival of Erik ten Hag as manager will add to a host of incomings and outgoings at the club.
Apart from Jones and Bailly, the likes of Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani are also expected to leave in the summer. The aforementioned players have less than six months remaining on their respective contracts and have shown no intentions of wanting to sign one.
On top of that, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic are guaranteed to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season. The duo were given a nice farewell by United fans during their final home game of the season against Brentford at the weekend.
There are also question marks over Cristiano Ronaldo's future, especially now that United are out of contention to finish in Premier League's top four.
