French giants Marseille may not have much choice in whether or not they want to sign Manchester United loanee Eric Bailly.
The Ivorian has been so good for the team that club bosses may be ready to take a chance on him permanently despite his extensive injury record.
Le Phocéen journalist Romain Haering reports via SportWitness, “If you really want to make your team progress, it’s players like him that you need. Bailly is still very good.”
“For Marseille, a guy like Bailly at 100%, you won’t have another, so we don’t have much choice.”
“If we want a player of his level, you have to take that risk.”
Marseille have been using Bailly sparingly in an effort to get him in the best possible shape for when the Ligue 1 season resumes.
Haering adds that Bailly’s temporary employers have not been using him at the same intensity as the rest of his teammates during the club’s friendlies.
The Marseille staff, as per Haering, want to bring the 28-year-old back bit by bit and are in no rush to throw him into the deep end.
So intent are they to get Bailly to tip-top shape that they are willing to wait until mid-January to introduce him back to action.
The primary aim of the Marseille staff is to not have the defender getting injured during the second half of the season.
They want to preserve the United loanee for the club’s biggest and most decisive games of the campaign.
The extraordinary extent the French club are going to to ensure Bailly’s availability is indicative of the fact that they want to make his loan spell permanent, as Haering indicates in his report.
