It has emerged that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was openly questioned by one of his own players following a recent defeat for Manchester United, according to the Telegraph (subscription required).
James Ducker damningly reports that Solskjaer, who is facing the sack after a dismal run highlighted by an embarrassing 5-0 defeat to heated rivals Liverpool, was challenged by Eric Bailly.
Bailly vented towards his under-fire boss after the decision to start Harry Maguire against Leicester, despite the Red Devils’ club captain having just one training session under his belt following a calf injury.
Maguire endured a nightmare against his former side, looking sloppy for three of the Foxes’ goals in the 4-2 defeat.
The Telegraph report that Bailly asked Solskjaer “why he picked a centre-half who was not fit” to face off against the east Midlands outfit, as the Ivorian questioned some of the boss’ choices before the shaky victory over Atalanta.
Bailly, who has been hindered by constant injury troubles since he joined the Old Trafford outfit in 2016, has made just one appearance this season, coming in the League Cup tie against West Ham.
Considering the shaky performances from Maguire as of late, it’s not surprising to see that Bailly is disgruntled, especially when Solskjaer didn’t learn from his mistake against Atalanta and Liverpool.
However, given that Maguire has been a fixture in the side since he arrived at the club, Bailly’s hopes of getting a chance to shine seem slim – unless he replaces Victor Lindelof instead.
Even if Bailly was to star should he be handed an opportunity, the ace’s injury record show that he’d potentially be a risky short-term fix and not someone to rely on for the entire campaign unfortunately.