16 August 2023 , 10:32
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Eric Bailly has been left in limbo following reports that Manchester City have accepted a bid from Al-Nassr for Aymeric Laporte.
Bailly, 29, is surplus to requirements at Manchester United and spent the whole of the 2022/23 campaign on loan in France with Marseille, but he failed to do enough to persuade the Ligue 1 outfit to make the move permanent.
The Ivory Coast international is free to leave Old Trafford for good this summer and was seemingly lined up to be the next high-profile star to join the Saudi Pro League - but that move has now been scuppered by Al-Nassr's interest in Laporte.
According to The Athletic, the Saudi outfit have had a bid accepted for the 29-year-old centre-back, who featured just 12 times for the champions last season. Furthermore, Laporte is believed to be open to the idea of moving to the Middle East, indicating that a deal is viable.
Al-Nassr's move for Laporte is likely to have significant ramifications for Bailly, who had been touted as a potential signing for the club who acquired Cristiano Ronaldo back in December.
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Sky Sports have since claimed that the defender will now consider his options after declining the opportunity to discuss a move to Besiktas, who had shown an interest in acquiring him.
Join the debate! Where do you think Bailly will be playing next season? Let us know here.
Bailly spent last season on loan at Marseille and is surplus to requirements at Old Trafford (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)The defender was not a part of the Manchester United squad which travelled to the United States on their pre-season tour after his season-long stint at Marseille was wrecked by injuries.
Bailly managed just 17 appearances for the French giants and struggled to show the sort of form which convinced United to shell out a whopping £30million for his services back in 2016 during the early days of Jose Mourinho's Old Trafford reign.
Bailly's current plight was met with sympathy by his old international manager, Patrick Beaumelle - but the former Ivory Coast boss admitted that the defender's career was effectively in tatters.
"It's a mess. He remains and will remain one of the best defenders I have known," Beaumelle told Africa Foot United last season. "It's a shame because a 100 per cent Bailly could have helped the team to grab points to be second.
"He has not always been 100 per cent, it is perhaps the fault of bad luck when he loved Marseille and would have appreciated being part of this project."