Transfer News: Manchester United ready to activate €70 million release clause for Spanish midfielder, Barcelona want Borussia Dortmund star as Luis Suarez replacement, 4 April 2019

Eric Bailly emerges as a target for Real Madrid

Eric Bailly 'emerges as surprise target for Real Madrid' #mufc https://t.co/LZxvzf2O6c
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) April 4, 2019

Expand Tweet

With there being much speculation around the future of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos walking into the twilight of his career, Real Madrid are looking at potential signings that can shore up their defence. According to the latest reports, they are eyeing out of favour Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly.

Zinedine Zidane reportedly holds the Ivory Coast international in high regard after having seen him play during his time at Villareal. Bailly's inconsistent performances which bordered on the capricious on occasion has seen him fall down the pecking order with the likes of Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones being preferred over him.

Real Madrid are now being linked with a £35 million move for the 24-year-old who had impressed immensely in his first two seasons before injuries hampered his progress. Bailly has failed to impress under the new Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and is expected to be sold in the summer.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Sripad