Manchester United have moved a step closer to winning the race for Eric Bailly, with the Villarreal defender believed to have passed a medical with the Premier League side.
Sky Sports reports that Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were all interested in the 22-year-old, but the Red Devils appear to have fought off the competition.
Because of his high-profile suitors, the transfer fee for Bailly, who is poised to become Jose Mourinho’s first signing as United manager has risen to £30m, according to Sky Sports.
That seems excessive for a centre-back of Bailly’s relative inexperience. He has only made 52 top-flight appearances in Spain – 47 for Villarreal since joining them in January 2015.
Bailly does have good international pedigree for a player of his age, winning 14 caps for the Ivory Coast and scoring in the penalty shootout as they won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
His potential arrival at Old Trafford arguably spells bad news for Daley Blind, who was a regular last season but is not Mourinho’s type of centre-back, according to Sky Sports.
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