Chelsea, Arsenal swoop in on Manchester United's Eric Bailly after defender is left out of squad

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Bengaluru, May 4: Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly is in the radar of Chelsea and Arsenal, according to reports in the British media. Bailly has not featured for United since the Manchester Derby a month ago and was not even included in the 18-man squad for the game against Arsenal last week.

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Mourinho claimed that Bailly can afford to miss out a few games for United as there are other centre-backs in the squad hoping to make the squad for the World Cup in Russia, while his country Ivory Coast will not feature in the competition next month. When asked specifically about Bailly missing out before the game against Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend, Mourinho stated that he had a dental problem.

Bailly understandably will not be happy playing second fiddle to Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo in the United squad, and is said to be looking out for options.

United's Premier League rivals Chelsea and Arsenal are on the look-out for a able centre-back in the summer transfer window to boost their own squads. Both teams have looked vulnerable in pressure situations and a gutsy centre-back would be just the solution they need.

Arsenal's centre-back duo of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi have performed below-par this season. The Gunners also don't have good back-up options in that position apart from Rob Holding after the departure of Gabriel Paulista in the January window. Bailly would definitely make a good addition for the Gunners, who will seek to rebuild the team after the departure of coach Arsene Wenger.

Chelsea face a similar predicament. The experienced centre-backs Gary Cahill and David Luiz have not featured in most of their matches this season. Cahill's age (32) is definitely catching up to him, while Brazilian Luiz may leave Chelsea at the end of the season after a feud with manager Antonio Conte.

Bailly, 24, was roped into United in the 2016-17 season from Villarreal with a huge transfer fee of £38 million. He made 25 appearances for the Red Devils in the previous season, while only featuring in 11 matches this season.

With two years of playing experience in the Premier League, Bailly appears to be a perfect fit to Luiz's position at Chelsea.

Wages and transfer fee could play a huge role influencing Bailly's exit.