Loaned-out Manchester United ace appears to aim dig at one Red Devils team-mate

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Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has criticised the club for what he feels is an unfair bias towards English players.

The Ivory Coast international has gone out on loan to Marseille this season after struggling to get much playing time at Old Trafford in the last couple of seasons.

Injuries have certainly played their part, with Bailly initially looking a strong signing when he joined under Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2016, but it seems he also feels he was overlooked because of an internal issue that saw managers favour the club’s English players.

“The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance,” Bailly told the Times.

“[The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I’ve always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised.

“That doesn’t happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs. Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team.

Eric Bailly has hit out at Manchester United
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“Luckily [Erik] Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic.”

Although Bailly didn’t name anyone in particular, he was surely referring to Harry Maguire, who competed with him for a spot at centre-back and who certainly struggled to impress in that position in recent times.

It’s easy to imagine that Bailly wasn’t too pleased with managers’ reluctance to drop Maguire and give him more of a chance, but of course he may also feel that other English players like Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw have also kept on playing without contributing much in recent times.

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