Why Bailly Is A Beast

Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Luke Shaw have praised Eric Bailly following his excellent start at Manchester United, describing the Ivorian defender as a “beast” and “true defender”.

Bailly became Jose Mourinho’s first signing of the summer back when he joined from Villarreal on 8 June and although he was not a household name to many Reds supporters, the 22-year-old has quickly introduced himself in impressive fashion with a string of commanding centre-back performances.

Our new number three was voted United’s Man of the Match in the FA Community Shield win at Wembley and the Premier League opener at Bournemouth, before contributing to his first clean sheet of the season during Friday’s 2-0 win over Southampton at Old Trafford.

“I think Eric has a lot of talent,” Herrera explained to MUTV last week, when asked to assess Bailly’s start to life in England. “He’s a beast, he’s so, so strong, he’s quick and he’s a very smart player. He doesn’t take risks, so that’s important for us because we know when we have the ball, or when he has the ball, he is not going to put the team under trouble.

“When the opponent has the ball we have a very quick player, we can press up because the space is going to be covered by him. He’s very good in the air, very energetic, with every ball in-between he goes like crazy so he wins a lot of balls. He did it well against Jamie Vardy and that’s not so easy because he was one of the best players last season and he felt very good, he won almost every duel.

“We are very happy with him. This season is so long, we have to keep our feet on the floor and Eric is going to be important but he’s still so young and he has to improve a lot.”

Carrick has also been impressed by Bailly’s early-season form and the 35-year-old paid tribute to his new defensive team-mate during an exclusive interview that appeared in Friday’s match programme at Old Trafford. “Eric seems to really enjoy defending,” Michael told United Review.

“Nowadays, it’s not as common as it used to be – I think defenders in general, around the league, have been concentrating more on playing with the ball. Eric is a true defender. He played really well at Wembley and I am sure he is going to get better and better.”

Shaw has started all three of this season's competitive games alongside Bailly, and he's also convinced of his ability. "He’s what we need," Luke told MUTV. "He’s so composed on the ball and at the right times he knows when to clear it or when to play out from the back.

"Defensively he’s been solid, no-one’s got around him and I’m so happy that we have him here. He’s such a good player and from the last few games he’s a very important player for us now as well."