Manchester United Transfer News: Eric Bailly Move Discussed Amid Latest Rumours

Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of completing the signing of Villarreal defender Eric Bailly after the Spanish outfit's owner confirmed his player is set to move in a deal valued at €30 million (£23.6 million).

Villarreal owner and chief executive Fernando Roig spoke to Spanish daily Marca (h/t Sport Witness) and said: "There is a team that is very interested, and if the three parties agree, there will be no problems. If the player wants to leave and Manchester are interested and pay, we will reach an agreement."

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Simon Jones of the Mail on Sunday reported the Red Devils will fend off competition from Bayern Munich and Arsenal to land the Ivory Coast international, who looks likely to leave Villarreal after just 18 months at the club.

According to Metro's Chris Winterburn, the big-money move for Bailly could be structured largely around future payments as United look to mitigate the risk of their heavy investment:

Considering how quickly the deal has escalated over the last few days, it seems only too likely the 22-year-old will soon become new manager Jose Mourinho's first signing at Old Trafford.

Had things panned out differently for the defender, Bailly could have found himself playing for United's biggest rivals instead, according to Mike Keegan of the Manchester Evening News:

Bailly arrived at El Madrigal from Espanyol in January 2015 as a replacement for Gabriel Paulista, who moved to Arsenal during the same transfer window. However, Bailly has arguably developed into a greater defensive force since then.

The youngster already has 15 caps for the Ivory Coast and helped Villarreal establish the joint-fourth-best defensive record in La Liga during 2015-16, where they conceded 35 goals in 38 league matches.

In the Yellow Submarine squad, only Victor Ruiz (4.9) averaged more clearances per game than Bailly (4.7) last term, and the Ivorian averaged more blocks per game (0.6) than any other player in the team, per WhoScored.com.

While Ruiz may be perceived as the more valued member of Villarreal, it's Bailly who's arguably the more valuable player, given his age and promise, as emphasised by Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney:

Villarreal kept clean sheets in 13 of the 35 games Bailly started in 2015-16, and he may slot in under Mourinho as a natural partner to Chris Smalling or last season's makeshift solution, Daley Blind.

The player's Spanish employers seem happy to sell, given the fees involved, and Mourinho appears to have taken little time in addressing the issues he's identified since moving to Old Trafford.