Manchester United Defender Offered To Newcastle United

Manchester United have offered Ivory Coast defender, Eric Bailly, to Newcastle United in a deal which could see the defender revive his Premier League Career.

It has been reported that despite the failure to secure Jurien Timber’s services at Old Trafford, Manchester United are willing to sell current centre-back Eric Bailly to Newcastle.

Bailly’s recent opportunities in the United side have been extremely limited, with the 28 year-old only making 7 appearances across all competitions in the 21/22 season. 

The Ivorian arrived at Old Trafford in the 2016 summer window for a fee of £34.20m, with high expectations for the defender to become a staple in a title-pushing team.

A number of heavy injuries have plagued Bailly’s career at Old Trafford however, with the defender making only 113 appearances across 6 seasons at the club.

These injuries, combined with bad runs of form eventually led to Bailly becoming primarily a squad player in recent seasons, rather than a consistent starter in the spine of the team it had originally hoped he would be.

The reports that suggested United has offered Bailly to Newcastle went further to say that the Reds would accept an offer as low as £8.5m, but are hoping to receive a fee closer to £20m.

United had originally been set to sign Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber, before Dutch boss and former Red Devils head coach Louis Van Gaal advised Timber against the move in a World Cup year.

A deal to sell Bailly to Newcatsle will benefit Manchester United in two big ways which could see their poor-looking summer transfer window take a drastic turn.

Firstly, by selling Bailly to Newcastle specifically, it will likely deter Newcatsle from continuing their pursuit of Lille defender Sven Botman, allowing United to secure the services of the Dutchman for themselves.

Secondly, off-loading Bailly for a reasonable fee will allow Manchester United to invest the fee received into a new summer signing, as Erik ten Hag looks to revamp his inherited United squad.

The Reds have been linked with a number of targets, most notably, Frenkie de Jong. They have already missed out on Darwin Nunez and Vitinha, with Nunez joining Liverpool and Vitinha agreeing terms with Paris St Germain.

A deal between Manchester United and Newcastle involving Eric Bailly will likely benefit all parties, as each club looks to improve their defence ahead of the new season, while the player wants to secure regular playing time for a Premier League club.

Erik ten Hag will want most of the club’s business sorted out before he embarks on a pre-season tour to South Asia and Australia. The club are due to play Liverpool on 12 July in Bangkok before jetting off to Australia to face Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

After this section of Tour 2022 ends, the players and coach will fly to Oslo to face Atletico Madrid in a fixture that will sure bring up sour memories for many Manchester United fans on 30 July, before heading back to Old Trafford the next day to face against Rayo Vallecano head of the start of the Premier League season.

The Red Devils are set to face Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the Premier League season in what will be Erik ten Hag's first competitive fixture at the Theatre of Dreams.