Ten Hag finally gets rid of Man Utd star who 'openly challenged' Solskjaer
Manchester United have confirmed that defender Eric Bailly has completed a transfer to Turkish Super Lig outfit Besiktas.
Bailly, 29, had been deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford following Erik ten Hag's arrival last summer and spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan in France with Marseille, where he made 23 appearances in all competitions.
The Ivory Coast international was made available for transfer during the close season and was linked with Fulham and a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League. However, after that interest failed to translate into anything concrete before the English transfer window shut last Thursday, Bailly has now finalised terms with Besiktas.
Both clubs confirmed that the deal had been completed on Tuesday morning, with Turkish sides having until September 15 to conclude their transfer business. Bailly joins his former Old Trafford teammate, Fred, in making the move to the Super Lig, with the Brazilian having joined Galatasaray.
Bailly became Jose Mourinho's first Manchester United signing back in 2016 when he joined the club from Villarreal and clocked up 113 appearances in total for the Red Devils, scoring one goal.
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Despite making a strong early impression at the club, Bailly became a peripheral figure in recent years. He was largely relegated to second-choice after Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who persisted with a defensive partnership of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
Join the debate! What do you make of Man Utd's decision to let Bailly leave? Let us know here.
Eric Bailly has left Manchester United for good after spending last season on loan with Marseille (Getty Images)The Norwegian's faith in Maguire continued even in spite of his continued poor form and eventually led to Bailly 'openly challenging' Solskjaer in the dressing room after Maguire was selected for the 4-2 defeat against Leicester back in 2021.
Maguire had been injured in the build-up to the match after spending three weeks on the sideline with a calf injury and Bailly questioned why Solskjaer had "picked a centre-half who was not fit", per a report from The Telegraph.
Solskjaer was dismissed from his post shortly after that exchange, but Bailly's fortunes hardly improved once Ralf Rangnick stepped in on an interim basis. It's been a similar story under Ten Hag, too, who was more than happy for the defender to be shipped out on loan last summer.
It's understood that Bailly may not be the last person to depart Old Trafford before the Turkish transfer window closes, with Donny van de Beek continuing to attract interest after he turned down the opportunity to join FC Lorient on loan last week. The Dutchman is also surplus to requirements.
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