Eric Bailly could STAY at Man Utd with ‘free transfer negotiations breaking down as he follows Harry Maguire demand’
ERIC BAILLY could be set to STAY at Manchester United this season despite heading up the club’s transfer list.
The centre-back spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 side Marseille as he was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Erik Ten Hag.
Bailly signed for United in 2016 and was a key figure under former managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But injury problems have plagued the United player throughout his tenure at Old Trafford, making it difficult for him to nail down a consistent place in the XI.
The defender was widely expected to leave United this summer as Erik Ten Hag looks to thin his squad of deadwood.
But a dispute with the Red Devils could see the defender stay another year at Old Trafford.
Bailly’s £80,000-a-week contract, which he signed in 2021, is set to expire next summer, although there is an option to extend that by a further year.
The defender was in advanced talks to link up with former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr but the deal now looks to be off.
The defender was in talks to terminate his contract with United which would allow him to join the Saudi club on a free.
According to Turkish reports, Bailly demanded a loyalty bonus owed to him of £600k but United are unwilling to pay this.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST NO DEPOSIT CASINO OFFERS
It’s a similar situation to fellow wantaway centre-back Harry Maguire, who saw his transfer to West Ham fall through over a disagreement with United over money owed to him by United,
The situation leaves both players in limbo with Maguire set to play a back up role and Bailly not likely to make any first team squads this season.
Bailly’s routes out of United now appear to be limited after Al-Nassr turned their attentions to signing Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte.
The only other concrete option for Bailly appeared to be Besiktas earlier in the window but the defender is understood to have cooled his interest in joining the Istanbul side.
So United could be in for another year of paying Bailly’s £80k-a-week wages despite spending the summer desperately trying to move him on.
MAN UTD NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with all the latest takeover and transfer news from Old Trafford