Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has praised Eric Bailly’s recent performances since returning to the starting lineup, though fears the player will breakdown with injury once again.
Bailly has played 90 minutes in each of United’s last three Premier League games, partnering Harry Maguire, and has performed well, earning praise from his team-mates and manager.
Ferdinand feels Bailly’s pace is exactly what the club’s defence has been missing, though he hopes the defender will be able to remain fit and cut out ‘silly mistakes’.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: ‘A big thing that has gone under the radar is Eric Bailly. ‘He’s added a little bit of pace and steeliness to that back four.
‘My only issue with Eric Bailly has always been his fitness, he can never stay fit. He’s always injured or a game away from an injury, and that’s a problem.
‘You don’t get that consistency of performance or get to know each other.
‘I think Maguire needs pace next to him, he has other attributes but pace isn’t one of them. In the modern game, to have two centre-backs who aren’t electric quick, you’ve got a problem.
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‘Bailly has good attributes, he’s quick and aggressive. If he can cut the silly mistakes out which he had previously and gets away from injuries and gets a clean bill of health, I think Manchester United are onto a good thing.’
He added: ‘Whenever I spoke about Man United, the first thing I always said was we weren’t lacking quality, personalities or the right type of characters, it was simply a lack of consistency, we didn’t have it.
‘We all know Pogba, Rashford, Martial and Greenwood can be top players on their day. But were we doing it as collective on a consistent basis?
‘The only way to win titles is if you have that word in your armoury: consistency. Last ten games, what they’ve done has been fantastic. It’s title-winning form. They’ve got to continue that.’
