Manchester United’s ideal XI following the January window

Eric Bailly

Ivory Coast were knocked out of the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday after a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Morocco, but it does mean that United’s Eric Bailly is likely to return to Manchester slightly earlier than expected.

There were some raised eyebrows when United spent £30 million on the 22-year-old last summer, but he has already proven in his short spell in England that he is on his way to becoming a top quality defender.

Bailly suffered an unfortunate injury in the 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea back in October and hasn’t really had a sustained run in the team since returning from that issue, and indeed before he went on international duty.

Although Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have been excellent for United in his absence, there’s no doubt that Bailly is the best centre-back at the club, and he could lead the Red Devils backline for many years to come.