Manchester United complete the £30m signing of Villarreal defender Eric Bailly

Manchester United have completed the signing of Villarreal defender Eric Bailly for a fee of around £30m on a four-year contract.

The Ivory Coast international becomes Jose Mourinho’s first acquisition at Old Trafford since the Portuguese boss took over last month, with Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic expected to follow shortly.

On his move, Bailly said: “It is a dream come true to be joining Manchester United. To play football at the highest level is all I have ever wanted to do.”

The 22-year-old also becomes United’s most expensive defender in their history with the fee surpassing the £29.1m the club paid for Rio Ferdinand in 2002.

The centre-back, who was also said to be attracting interest from fellow European giants Manchester City, FC Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain, has 15 international caps for his country, and made 35 appearances in all competitions for the La Liga outfit this term, scoring one goal.