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Centre-backs
Eric Bailly
The Ivorian centre-back, who is arguably United's best defender right now, is a brick wall at the back.
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Although he was left out in the cold by Mourinho towards the end of last season and there were reports emerging of discontent between him and his Portuguese manager, Mourinho's renewed appreciation for Bailly following the match against Liverpool imply that he will be a guaranteed starter in the upcoming season.
‘When he saw that Smalling in the warm-up was leaving, he decided by himself he did not want another kid on the pitch,’ Mourinho said.
‘That is why we have him, why we still have him and why he is going to stay with us because football teams need people like him; the kind of people where the club is more important than anything else.’
Chris Smalling
Smalling enjoyed a remarkable last season but his place in the starting XI was put in jeopardy by Jose Mourinho's hot pursuit of a central defender in the ongoing transfer market.
Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld were reportedly the club's top targets but with Leicester City playing hardball and the Red Devils refusing to meet Alderweireld's astronomical asking price, Smalling appears to be the ultimate answer.
