Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has criticized the club for what he sees as an unfair bias towards English players.
The Ivory Coast international has been out on loan to Marseille this season after struggling to get much game time at Old Trafford in the last two seasons.
Injuries certainly played their part, with Bailly initially looking for a strong signing when he joined under José Mourinho in the summer of 2016, but it seems he also feels he was overlooked due to an internal issue that saw managers favour. to the English players of the club.
“The club should avoid favoring English players and give everyone a chance,” Bailly told the Times.
“[The club should] Encourage competition in the locker room, not just look for some. I have always had the feeling that the national player was prioritized.
“That doesn’t happen at Chelsea or other big clubs in the Premier League. There are people who take it for granted that they will start and that weakens the team.
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“Fortunately [Erik] Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic.”
Although Bailly didn’t name anyone in particular, he was surely referring to Harry Maguire, who competed with him for a place in central defense and who has certainly struggled to impress in that position of late.
It’s easy to imagine that Bailly wasn’t too pleased with the managers’ reluctance to let Maguire go and give him more chances, but of course he can also feel that other England players such as Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw have also continued to play without contributing. a lot in recent times.