Manchester United have reportedly opted to extend Eric Bailly's deal by a further two years as per a clause in his contract until the end of the 2021/22 season.
The Ivorian has spent the entire season so far out with injury after undergoing knee surgery in the summer following a nasty injury picked up in pre-season.
He has undergone his rehabilitation behind the scenes at Old Trafford, but with his terms up in the summer and Harry Maguire arriving to take his first-team spot, it had begun to look as if he would head for pastures new come June.
Somewhat surprisingly, however, it seems that will not be the case. ESPN say that United maintained an option to extend his deal, and have chosen to exercise that despite his lack of recent first-team action.
If true, it seems highly likely that he will have a part to play in the second half of the season, and could serve as a welcome boost to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's defensive options.
He played his first 90 minutes of the season for United's Under-23s against Newcastle at the weekend, and while it's expected that the upcoming Premier League double-header with Liverpool and Burnley will come too soon, the FA Cup tie against either Watford or Tranmere looks as if it could be a realistic target for his return to senior action.
Since his £35m move from Villarreal back in 2016, a dreadful injury record has limited Bailly to just 74 appearances, leading to a dramatic fall in his stock that left many of a United persuasion not too bothered by the prospect of him leaving for free.
Now it looks as if he is back in the fold, however, he could serve as some much-needed reliable cover for the first-choice duo of Maguire and Victor Lindelof, with only the error-prone Phil Jones and the largely-untested Axel Tuanzebe currently available to offer relief.
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Source : 90min