Ivory Coast defender, Eric Bailly did not report for their first day of pre-season training on Saturday as Manchester United’s other international stars returned.
The Red Devils are ready to sell Bailly this summer and do not expect them to be included in the squad for their tour of the United States next week. United face Lyon in Edinburgh on Wednesday, before jetting west for friendlies against Arsenal, Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
The player is out of contract next summer and United hope to offload him to free up some space in the squad and on the wage bill for new players. Ten Hag currently has more than 30 senior professionals at his disposal and is set to trim that down ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Bailly spent last season on loan at Marseille and the French side were obliged to sign him for around £5.4m if they qualified for the Champions League and he played a certain number of games. Although Marseille finished third and booked their place in Europe’s elite club competition, the Ivorian played just 23 matches – which was not enough for the clause to be automatically activated.
Source: Mirror