Arsenal & Spurs on Red Alert as Man Utd Defender Eric Bailly Considers January Transfer

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly could be set to leave Old Trafford in January according to reports, alerting two of the Red Devils' Premier League rivals.

Bailly has been relegated to the bench for United's last three matches, only coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute of Saturday's win against Watford at Vicarage Road.

The Mirror reports that Arsenal and Tottenham are both interested in the Ivory Coast international and could make a move in January if Bailly remains an outcast at that point.

Having rotated his central defensive pairing for the first few games of the season, Jose Mourinho now appears to have settled on Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof, leaving Bailly out in the cold.

The 24-year-old last started in the 3-2 defeat to Brighton in August, where he had one of his worst days in a United shirt alongside Lindelof at the back.

Arsenal could do with defensive reinforcements as they are yet to keep a clean sheet in five Premier League matches so far this season.

Tottenham have also struggled at the back recently and looked very shaky against Liverpool at the weekend. Their only clean sheet of the season came against a Bailly-less United at Old Trafford.

Mourinho made no secret of his desire to sign a centre back during the summer transfer window and could revisit the market in January, which would push Bailly further down the pecking order.

Bailly joined United from Villarreal in 2016 for £30m. He has since made 60 appearances for the club, scoring once.