Manchester United defender Eric Bailly joins Marseille on loan for the season

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly joins Marseille on loan for the season with an option to buy after the Ivory Coast star found himself out of favour under Erik ten Hag

  • Man United defender Eric Bailly has joined Marseille on a season-long loan  
  • The Ivory Coast star has fallen down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag  
  • Marseille have an option to buy the centre-back after joining Igor Tudor’s side 

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has joined Ligue 1 side Marseille on a season-long loan after falling out of favour with new boss Erik ten Hag

Bailly will now link up with Igor Tudor’s side, who have a £5m option to purchase the Ivory Coast defender if they qualify for the Champions League and if the player makes a certain amount of appearances, according to the Telegraph.

Manchester United said in a statement: ‘Eric Bailly has joined French side Marseille on loan for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has joined Marseille on a season-long loan deal

Bailly arrived at Old Trafford six years ago but his spell has been plagued by injuries

Bailly arrived at Old Trafford six years ago but his spell has been plagued by injuries 

‘Bailly’s move to the south of France includes the possibility of a permanent transfer at the end of the season.

‘A popular member of the United squad, Eric has our best wishes for the campaign to come and we will be following his progress closely.’

Bailly joined United in 2016 but his spell at Old Trafford has been plagued by injuries. He has featured 113 times since sealing his move from Villarreal for £30million six years ago. 

The 28-year-old started just three Premier League matches last season as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick favoured Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof in central defence.

Despite United's defensive troubles, there seems no way back for Bailly under Erik ten Hag

Despite United’s defensive troubles, there seems no way back for Bailly under Erik ten Hag

Bailly has played no part in United’s opening two matches of the current season under new manager Erik ten Hag.

With Lisandro Martinez coming in from Ajax over the summer, Bailly was pushed even further down the pecking order at Old Trafford. 

A regular in his first season, Bailly gradually fell out of favour amid a series of managerial changes and also suffered injury issues which restricted his game time.

Ten Hag has opted for a central defensive pairing of Maguire and Martinez in the opening matches of the season, before bringing in Raphael Varane for their 2-1 in over Liverpool.