B/R

Manchester United are revelling in the art of comparison right now. Jose Mourinho is the new Sir Alex Ferguson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the new Eric Cantona and Paul Pogba is the new Roy Keane.

Indeed, there is something about the team that has started the 2016/17 Premier League season that is unnervingly familiar, yet simultaneously completely different.

So, if the Old Trafford club is looking backwards in order to look forwards, what is Eric Bailly? The Ivorian has become the bedrock of United’s defensive line in a very short space of time, impressing in his first two Premier League outings for his new club.

Ibrahimovic and Pogba have commanded more column inches, but Bailly could have just as much of an impact.

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Some claim he is the closest thing United have had to Nemanja Vidic since the man himself departed Old Trafford two years ago. Indeed, Bailly is a solid, no-nonsense centre-back, the kind United have lacked for years, but he is so much more than that as well. To compare him with Vidic doesn’t quite illustrate his true potential.

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While Vidic was undoubtedly one of the best defenders ever to play in the Premier League, he often relied on his centre-back partner Rio Ferdinand to provide composure on the ball. The Englishman was the one to bring possession out from the back, with the Serbian charged with providing the muscle. It was the perfect partnership.

But Bailly is the epitome of the modern defender in that he possesses the qualities that made both Ferdinand and Vidic so exceptional. The Ivorian is strong and is blessed with natural presence, but he is also lightning quick and adept with the ball at his feet. Mourinho has found the complete defender he so badly needed ahead of his first season at Old Trafford.

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"I think Eric has a lot of talent," team-mate Ander Herrera told MUTV (via ManUtd.com) after Friday’s 1-0 win over Southampton.

"He’s a beast, he’s so, so strong, he’s quick and he’s a very smart player. He doesn’t take risks, so that’s important for us because we know when we have the ball, or when he has the ball, he is not going to put the team under trouble.

"When the opponent has the ball we have a very quick player, we can press up because the space is going to be covered by him. He’s very good in the air, very energetic, with every ball in-between he goes like crazy so he wins a lot of balls. He did it well against Jamie Vardy and that’s not so easy because he was one of the best players last season and he felt very good, he won almost every duel.

"We are very happy with him. This season is so long, we have to keep our feet on the floor and Eric is going to be important but he’s still so young and he has to improve a lot."

On the basis of his three performances so far—against Leicester City in the Community Shield and against Bournemouth and Southampton in the Premier League—it’s difficult to see where he still has improvements to make.

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Of course, at just 22 years old, Bailly will make mistakes. That is part of the learning process for a player of such tender age, especially a centre-back for an elite Premier League team.

At Villarreal, he was renowned as one of the best raw talents in Spain, but he was prone to the odd blunder—like the one made against Atletico Madrid last season, allowing Fernando Torres to race through on goal.

Mourinho and United must brace themselves for the first error because it will come eventually. And when it does come, they must do their best to shelter and harness Bailly. He needs protection and he should be able to count on it from his own club, fans and team-mates. He must not be hung out to dry.

The Red Devils have an exceptional talent on their hands and Bailly deserves some leeway. He has demonstrated in his first two Premier League outings that he is naturally suited to the demands and rigours of the English game, and now Mourinho must do all he can to make the most of that, even if it means letting the Ivorian get away with things others wouldn’t get away with.

Look at how Ferguson protected David De Gea when the tough got going for the young Spanish goalkeeper upon his arrival at Old Trafford. He was dropped after a series of mistakes—but not as a punishment. Not to humiliate him in light of public pressure and attention but to shelter him from it.

Ferguson knew how good De Gea was and recognised the treatment he needed to fulfil his potential. That treatment has been more than vindicated since.

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Bailly is a talent of similar promise. His signing could prove to be one of the most significant arrivals at United in a number of years and give the Red Devils a defensive platform for the generation to come. The €30 million parted with to activate the release clause in his Villarreal contract could, in the context of history, be considered something of a bargain in the long term.

It’s somewhat remarkable that Manchester United faced so little competition for the Ivorian’s signature given his obvious potential.

Arsenal desperately need a centre-back like Bailly, and yet they were nowhere to be seen. Chelsea are also on the lookout for a new centre-back, but as far as we know, the Stamford Bridge club weren’t in the running for the 22-year-old either. That is an error of judgement that could haunt United’s Premier League rivals for quite some time.

United are already playing in the style of their new manager, with the Red Devils now reflecting the personality of Mourinho. Wherever the Portuguese coach has been successful, he has been able to call upon a defensive stalwart. He had John Terry at Chelsea, Lucio at Inter Milan and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid.

Bailly could come to keep such company if he follows the upward arc he is on.