The latest recruit of Olympique de Marseille, Eric Bailly joined the club on loan from Manchester United. Owing to lack of playing time at the United, the defender hopes to revive his career. If his lack of rhythm is questioned by some Marseille fans, his former coach in the Ivory Coast team, Patrice Beaumelle, was keen to reassure, not running out of praise for him.
"He has all the defensive and offensive qualities for the position. He has the aggressiveness of the greatest defenders, he can play with two or three in the axis. He has a quality of recovery, with an excellent long game and a very good reading of the game. His first quality, for me, is to go out with the ball at his feet to bring the surplus, as Laurent Blanc did in his time. He has a sense of anticipation, he goes quickly, he is aggressive, he likes the physical challenge. He is even spectacular in his interventions," Beaumelle said in an interview with La Provence.
The technician then compared Eric Bailly to former great Olympic figures: "I think he can remind the Marseillais of Marcel Desailly or Basile Boli of the time. He likes duels, he is not afraid. He will erase all the little mistakes he can make by getting some playing time. That's what he lacks today." Enough to get the fans excited.
