Eric Bailly ‘believes intention behind new contract offer from Manchester United is to simply increase his asking price’ as source claims the Red Devils have been ‘disrespectful’ to the defender and that he’s ‘had enough’
- Eric Bailly is contemplating a new contract offer from Manchester United
- The centre-back has been largely unused by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021
- Reports say Bailly believes his new deal is to simply increase his asking price
- An unnamed source claimed United have been ‘disrespectful’ to the defender
Eric Bailly believes Manchester United‘s latest contract offer is simply to attract a bigger transfer fee for the defender this summer, according to reports.
The 26-year-old defender has largely unused by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Premier League this calendar year, playing just once since the beginning of February.
The centre-back is in talks with the club over a new 12-month extension and it has been reported that Bailly is unsure over whether to extend.
Eric Bailly believes the intention behind his contract offer from Manchester United is to increase his asking price, according to reports
Bailly (right) has exiled from the first-team squad by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in recent weeks
An unnamed source close to the defender told Sky Sports News: ‘Eric loves the club and the fans, his family are settled in Manchester and he’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of his career at Old Trafford.
‘But he feels the club has been very disrespectful towards him and frankly he’s had enough.
‘He feels that no matter what he does, he will never be first choice for Ole. He now realises he’s too good and too young to spend his time sitting on the bench.’
Bailly joined Old Trafford at the start of the 2016-17 season from Villarreal for £30million and has since played 100 times in all competitions for the Red Devils.
Bailly (left) has played second fiddle to the likes of Harry Maguire (right) and Victor Lindelof
The defender was signed by former United boss Jose Mourinho but has played just 12 Premier League games in the two full top-flight seasons under the Portuguese’s replacement in Solskjaer.
The 26-year-old has largely played second fiddle to Lindelof as Maguire’s centre-back partner this season and has become increasingly frustrated at his lack of opportunities.
Bailly’s exclusion from United’s matchday squad for the trip to AC Milan has been said to be the final straw, even though the centre-back praised Solskjaer for his defensive coaching in recent weeks.
Bailly (right) has been complimentary about Solskjaer’s coaching despite his first-team exile
Speaking to Guillem Balague’s Pure Football Podcast, he said: ‘I always play at my maximum and he’ll (Solskjaer) say to me, “Eric, you’re an aggressive player, the forwards don’t like this aggression”. He’s been a forward, so he knows.
‘There are many important bits of advice he gives to a centre back, a lot to take on. We learn from him, how to influence the forward, where to be.
‘He gives us a lot with advice about that, when to make interceptions, the centre-backs need to be close to the forwards, especially a true striker, little details he tells us.’
