Real Betis weighing up move for Manchester United's Eric Bailly?

Real Betis are interested in signing Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly this summer, according to a report.

The Ivory Coast international has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford and was allowed to join Marseille on loan for the 2022-23 campaign.

Bailly played a part in Les Olympiens' qualification for the Champions League with 23 appearances in all tournaments, although he only started five Ligue 1 games under Igor Tudor.

The 29-year-old also incurred a seven-match suspension for a horror tackle on Hyeres' Almike Moussa N'Diaye in the Coupe de France, hospitalising the midfielder with a boot into the chest.

Marseille would have been obligated to sign Bailly permanently if he played 19 Ligue 1 games, but the French giants seemingly had no interest in doing so and only fielded him 17 times in the top flight.

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Les Olympiens still hold the option to take Bailly off of Man United's hands permanently for approximately £6m, but having failed to nail down a regular starting role, he is unlikely to have that option triggered.

Instead, reports in Spain say that Real Betis are hoping to lure Bailly away from Old Trafford this summer, and director Ramon Planes has been keeping a close eye on his development since his days as a youth player at Espanyol.

Bailly only has 12 months left to run on his deal with Man United and is expected to be sold in the coming weeks, and Betis could strike a cut-price deal for the centre-back.

Man United are seemingly resigned to taking a major hit on the €38m (£32.5m) that they paid for Bailly's services in 2016, but the defender's exit will free up space on the wage bill for more defensive reinforcements to arrive.

The Ivorian has scored one goal and set up one more in 115 matches for Man United over the past seven years, winning the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield during his debut season.

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Bailly will likely be one of several centre-backs on the way out of Man United this summer, with Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe already confirmed to be seeking pastures new.

Harry Maguire also continues to be linked with an exit after falling down the pecking order, with all of Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw ahead of him.

However, it has been reported that the England international is instead keen to stay and fight for his place at the club, in spite of the fact that his place in the Three Lions' squad could soon be under threat.

With Maguire determined to continue in Manchester red, Erik ten Hag's side may struggle to find a spot for rumoured target Kim Min-jae, and Bayern Munich could now try to hijack a move for the Napoli man.