Bailly makes Man Utd future vow after extending contract through to 2022

Eric Bailly has vowed to repay the faith shown in him by Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Ivorian defender determined to make up for lost time.

The 2019-20 campaign has been another injury-hit one for the 25-year-old centre-half.

He has, however, seen an extension option taken up in his contract which now ties him to the Red Devils through to the summer of 2022.

With any uncertainty over his future brought to a close, Bailly – who was the first signing of Jose Mourinho’s Old Trafford reign in 2016 – has been freed to focus on the present.

He has told United’s official website of landing fresh terms: “For me it was very important.

“At a time when I was suffering a little bit and struggling with my injury, the club showed great confidence, enough to extend my contract, and it gives me a real feeling of prestige to be able to continue being part of this squad and this club.

“The feeling then is that I want to pay back that faith and confidence they’ve shown in me and being part of something here.”

Bailly had sparked talk of interest from Arsenal and Tottenham before seeing his deal extended and now wants to put the fitness frustrations of his recent past behind him.

He added: “The sensation I always get whenever I play for this team is to give my best and go as far as I possibly can for the team, and I think that feeling is accentuated when you come back from injury.

“You want to make up for every second that you’ve missed, so now I’m fully fit, I feel 100 per cent in myself, I’m really excited to be back part of things again and do what I do.”

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Bailly has taken in just two appearances this season, but is back in favour and looking to thrive alongside the likes of January signing Bruno Fernandes .

“I think it’s always important to welcome new players into the fold to keep progressing the team,” Bailly said of the Portugal international midfielder and his fellow new boy Odion Ighalo.

“Back in the summer we managed to get Harry, Aaron and Daniel in, who’ve really been a big part of things from the word go and they’ve really added to the squad.

“You always want to have quality signings coming in and I think the signings we’ve added during the January transfer window have been really positive as well.

“The quality they have added is great. We’ve seen in training so far that they’ve added to the squad.

“Odion is a very experienced player with Premier League experience from Watford, so that’s adding good know-how to our attack.

“Bruno is a real talent, a pure talent. He was voted the best player in the Portuguese league in previous seasons and we’ve seen already the quality he’s brought.

“Even though he’s not used to the Premier League we’ve already seen his quality and what he can do. They’ll just want to give their very best to the squad to help push us forward.”