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Fulham have submitted a bid for Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly.
According to Football Insider, the newly-promoted Premier League side face competition for the 28-year-old's signature from European heavyweights Sevilla and Roma.
The Cottagers are also targeting three other centre-backs, including Chelsea's Malang Sarr and West Ham's Issa Diop, to avoid a fourth successive relegation from the top-flight.
Bailly still has two years left on his current Red Devils deal and has played 113 times across six seasons following his £34.2 million move from Villarreal in 2016.
The Ivory Coast international has shown glimpses of the excellent player he can undoubtedly be, but his time at Old Trafford has been ravaged by relentless injury problems. Bailly only played seven times for Manchester United last season, with just four of those coming in the Premier League.
United boss Erik ten Hag has used the centre-back on numerous occasions during the pre-season. But with new signing Lisandro Martinez arriving from Ajax, competition for places appears more intense than ever. Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof have all been ahead of Bailly in the pecking order in recent times.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand pleased with Ten Hag's start
The 20-time champions of England have enjoyed a good run in the last few weeks, winning three of their six pre-season fixtures. The biggest win of their pre-season campaign came against Liverpool, whom they thrashed 4-0 in Thailand. The only loss of the Red Devils' campaign came against Atletico Madrid in Oslo on Saturday, July 30.
Former England defender Rio Ferdinand has claimed that he can already see a stark contrast in the current team to the one which endured a miserable campaign last season.
Manchester United conceded more Premier League goals than relegated Burnley last season (57), finishing with their lowest points total in a season (58). Opining that discipline in the squad is key, Ferdinand told FootballJOE (as per The Manchester Evening News):
“I think it’s too early. I’m happy with the style of football that he’s implementing, and I’m happy with a lot of the words and conversations that you’re seeing come out of the training ground."
“The discipline element within the squad, the identity of the team taking shape, they’re the kind of things I’ve been looking at and calling for. It is pre-season, it is too early to start jumping out about it and going ‘we’re back, we’re going to be the new, reformed Man United.'"
“But those elements are the key bits for me, and if we can see an identity played out at the beginning of the season that continues and is sustained, then I think we’re on the right track.”
Manchester United begin their 2022-23 Premier League campaign against Brighton and Hove Albion on August 7 at Old Trafford.
