Manchester United: Defender signs new contract till 2024

Eric Bailly signed for Manchester United from Villarreal in 2016. When he hasn’t been injured, he has been a pretty good player for Manchester United. He has been in and out of the squad, especially the last two seasons where he has only started 14 games this season and 9 last season for Manchester United. He has more competition nowadays, and the injuries are happening way more than usual, so that’s very unfortunate.

He really is a decent player, though, and he has been good (usually) whenever he has played. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played that much.

Well, still, there’s good news. Manchester United’s official website has confirmed that the Ivorian has signed a new contract that will keep him at the club for another three years. He also has an option to extend it by another year. The club has been talking to other players about contract renewals as well. They’ve been busy doing work in the background.

What does the player have to say, and according to the coach, how important is he to Manchester United?

The man from Ivory Coast didn’t really have to think long and hard about this, simply because he loves the club a lot and wants to succeed here.

That takes a lot of willpower. I mean, if you’re a guy that has spent most of the time on the sidelines facing one injury or the other, it takes a lot of willpower to get back up and fight for the starting spots even after so many knocks.

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Anyway, he also told the media that he aims to remain injury-free, win some silverware in the form of the Europa League title, and push for the Premier League title next season. Like I’ve said in the past, this team already has the mentality to make that happen. All they need is a little bit more quality and consistency.

He has always dreamt of playing for this club and from what I can see, it doesn’t really seem like he wants to wake up from that dream anytime soon.

Ole Gunna Solskjaer also said that he is glad that Bailly signed a contract extension with Manchester United. This is what he said after Bailly put the ink on the paper.

"“He possesses fantastic speed, timing of tackle and has that aggression which, of course, you need as a centre-back. He is a popular member of the squad and we look forward to continuing to work with him going forward.”– Ole Gunna Solskjaer, via Manutd.com"

Ole also mentioned that Bailly’s “robustness” has improved since he took over as manager and that he is always willing to improve.

Is it really worth it for Manchester United to take the risk?

Yes. That’s the question. Is it worth it? Has he done enough to be given a contract extension? I’ll repeat what I said before, he has played only 23 games in his last two seasons. He either got injured, or got benched by other options available to Ole. So, in reality, I’m not a huge fan of the deal because it doesn’t seem like the right choice. But, surely Ole knows better than me. The club knows better than me.

They hope to see the injury-free Bailly next season. While I hope so too, I just don’t see it happening because of how the last two seasons have been like for the defender. Time will tell though if it’s all worth it or not. Hopefully, it is.