Vidic Flattered By Bailly Comparison

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic is pleased Eric Bailly has been compared to him, having been impressed by the Ivorian’s performances since his arrival from Villarreal.

Bailly won the Man-of-the-Match award in three of his first four competitive matches and was later voted the Reds’ Player of the Month for August to cap an excellent start to life at Old Trafford.

Comparisons are inevitable in football and Bailly was swiftly likened in style to United’s most prominent defensive warrior of recent times, Vidic, the now-retired Serbian star who left the Reds in 2014 and takes no offence at such associations. “It’s nice to hear and, from what I’ve seen, he is a very good player,” Nemanja exclusively explained in Saturday’s edition of United Review.

“If he keeps going as he is, he will definitely have a great career at United,” Vidic told us. “Of course, I’m glad that someone compares him to me and I hope he will be a player who does very well for us. He’s strong and composed with the ball. He’s a very confident player. He has a bit of everything. What I have seen in the first few matches is that we have a great player for the future and a player I would say we needed. He reads the game well. He already looks a big signing for us.

“I think he’s already popular with the fans. Of the signings we’ve had this year, I think he’s the one that has surprised everyone the most. He’s 22 years old and he went straight into the club and looks at home straight away. That’s outstanding for me. We know how many players come to England and need time to adapt and that, for me, is what is so impressive – he’s 22 and he has adapted straight away and showed some confidence which is important.”

While Vidic arrived midway through the 2005/06 season and didn’t fully bed into Sir Alex Ferguson’s side until the following campaign, Bailly has hit the ground running. But these are early days in a young player’s career in a new league and situations can quickly change. Having been there and done it, the Serbian stresses that caveats are a must when predicting what the future holds.

“The most important thing for a player of his age is to keep his feet on the ground,” said Vidic. “The first few matches he really performed well and had so many compliments from everyone, but it’s important to stay calm, keep doing what he was doing before and keep improving. If he continues to play like he does and stays focused, he can be here for many years and help the team be successful.”