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Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is facing an uphill battle to remain at Olympique de Marseille beyond the end of his loan spell.
According to French publication L’Equipe, Bailly is not central to his manager’s thinking at the club.
“Ivorian central defender Eric Bailly, on loan from Manchester United, has lost the confidence of Igor Tudor, his coach at OM,” the outlet said.
“The conditions of his purchase option will not help him find his place.”
“The performance of Eric Bailly, who was marking Kylian Mbappé during the heavy defeat against PSG, particularly displeased Igor Tudor.”
Despite being fit at the moment, Bailly is mainly being used from the bench.
L’Equipe adds that there is little chance that the defender’s situation will improve before the end of the season.
For Bailly’s clause to be signed permanently by Marseille to be activated, the 28-year-old needs to play at least 10 out of the remaining 12 games for Marseille.
If the obligation to buy is not activated, the only way for Bailly to remain in France is for Marseille to enter into negotiations with United.
The French giants will have the option to talk with the Red Devils about new terms to extend the player’s stay at the Orange Vélodrome.
The purchase obligation is estimated to be worth around €7m.
Bailly must play half of the team’s Ligue 1 matches and Marseille must qualify for the Champions League.
Les Olympiens are well on track to qualify for the Champions League. They sit in second place in the league standings, eight points below Paris St Germain.
