Eric Bailly of Manchester United has pleaded with the Red Devils' coaching staff to start him over Harry Maguire in Sunday's match against Arsenal. The €38 million transfer from Villarreal to United in 2016 has brought the Ivorian defender only seven appearances in the 2021/22 season.
There have only been four Premier League outings and seven in all competitions for the 28-year-old this season at Old Trafford. Despite his availability for the previous four months, Bailly was only called up to the team on rare occasions.
Players like Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones have started ahead of the Ivorian in recent weeks due to Raphael Varane's unavailability. Meanwhile, Bailly's last start came in the 3-1 victory against Burnley on December 30.
Eric Bailly 'begs' to play ahead of Harry Maguire
The Ivory Coast international has fallen down the pecking order under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, leading to speculation that he may depart this summer. Interestingly, in the 4-0 loss to Liverpool on Tuesday night, the German decided to start Phil Jones rather than the 28-year-old defender.
Bailly took to special media to express his dissatisfaction with the way things are going for him right now. "Start Eric Bailly and Varane," a supporter said in response to a club Instagram photo showing their most recent training session. Bailly, then, posted "please" with a smiling emoticon and prayer hands in response to the message.
It's becoming more and more probable that the central defender will depart United this summer, with Serie A sides Milan and Roma interested in luring him away from England. However. Erik ten Hag's ideas might have an impact on his future. United's new manager, a Dutchman, was introduced on Tuesday and may opt to give Bailly more of an opportunity than Ralf Rangnick has.
All of this comes after his direct competitor for a starting spot, Harry Maguire, has drawn harsh criticism. There were plenty of naysayers after Maguire's pre-match interview in which he said that he wouldn't be playing every game in the starting lineup had he been performing awful every game.
