Following the acquisition by Manchester United of Eric Bailly from Villarreal, subject to the approval of a work permit, premierleague.com takes a look at the promising defender from Ivory Coast.
Bailly joined Villarreal from Espanyol in January 2015 as a replacement for the Arsenal-bound Gabriel and soon became a mainstay. He made 35 appearances after his debut last February.
Villarreal conceded 35 goals when Bailly was on the pitch to help earn Villarreal a place in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League.
The 22-year-old, who has given his first interview to MUTV, also played seven times during the club's progress to the last four of the UEFA Europa League, where they were knocked out by Liverpool. Bailly's absence for the second leg was key in the defeat that led to their exit.
The statistics from Bailly's 35 outings for Villarreal show he is an excellent reader of the game, averaging 2.8 interceptions, 5.3 clearances and 0.6 blocks per match.
Only Victor Ruiz has averaged a higher amount of interceptions in that time for Villarreal. Chechu Dorado is the sole team-mate to surpass Bailly's rate of clearances, while only two other players in the side edge him in the blocks-made category.
Villarreal stats in La Liga since Bailly's debut (per match)
| Player | Interceptions | Player | Clearances | Player | Blocks |
| Victor Ruiz | 3.3 | Chechu Dorado | 5.5 | Chechu Dorado | 0.8 |
| Eric Bailly | 2.8 | Eric Bailly | 5.3 | Mateo Mussachio | 0.7 |
| Mateo Mussachio | 2.7 | Victor Ruiz | 5.3 | Eric Bailly | 0.6 |
| Adrian Marin | 2.5 | Bojan Jokic | 3.9 | Victor Ruiz | 0.5 |
| Jaume Costa | 2.5 | Mateo Mussachio | 3.6 | Daniele Bonera | 0.5 |
Bailly, who has 15 caps for Ivory Coast and was part of their 2015 African Cup of Nations-winning team, has consistently impressed since his Spanish Liga debut for Espanyol in 2014/15, with a similar rate of tackles, interceptions and clearances during his two seasons there.
Bailly's La Liga statistics
| Season | 2015/16 | 2014/15 | 2014/15 |
| Team | Villarreal | Villarreal | Espanyol |
| Matches | 25 | 10 | 5 |
| Minutes played | 2024 | 829 | 354 |
| Tackles | 44 | 20 | 12 |
| Interceptions | 65 | 32 | 17 |
| Clearances | 117 | 69 | 32 |
| Headed clearances | 55 | 35 | 10 |
| Blocks | 16 | 4 | 3 |
Bailly, who was born in Bingerville, Ivory Coast, the home of Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony, was spotted by Espanyol during a youth tournament held in Burkina Faso and joined the Catalan club at 17 in 2011.
For more on Bailly's move to Man Utd and to watch an exclusive interview with MUTV, visit manutd.com.
