Villarreal are considering a move for Manchester United defender Eric Bailly as they hunt for a ‘top-level defender’ this summer.
Fichajes report that the Spanish side have identified the United man for a potential return to the club he left in 2016.
Bailly moved to Old Trafford from Villarreal in 2016 after impressing in his first season at the club following a move from Espanyol.
His time in Manchester has not been a happy one, though, with injuries limiting him to 79 appearances in four years.
He now finds himself behind Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order, and Villarreal may look to exploit that and bring him back to La Liga.
It’s explained that they will ‘seek to negotiate’ a deal with Manchester United for Bailly, who ‘left very good feelings’ at the club despite only being there for a year.
They are hopeful they can help him rediscover his form after a series of injuries, much like they have done with Santi Cazorla, another player whose time in the Premier League was blighted by injury issues.
They believe that Bailly, at 26-years-old, is still ‘very young’ and has plenty of time to ‘recover his best version’ at the club.
Fichajes say that his arrival would be welcomed by the club’s fans, who would consider his capture as one of the ‘revelation signings’ of the summer were Villarreal to pull it off.
Manchester United’s stance on a potential move isn’t mentioned, although it is easy to imagine they would want to recoup most of the €34.2m they paid for him four years ago.
That will undoubtedly be the case if their finances have been struck by the Coronavirus outbreak, with any potential income more than welcome to boost their funds for their own possible moves this summer.
