Solskjaer responds to Bailly speculation

The Ivorian, who celebrated his 27th birthday during the week, has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford recently, given the strong competition in the squad for a starting berth at centre-back.

Eric has had a something of a stop-start season in 2020/21 through injury and has been unavailable for the last four games after he tested positive for COVID-19 over the recent international period.

In his absence, the Reds beat Granada 2-0 in the second leg of our Europa League quarter-final to set up a last-four meeting with Roma.

Ahead of our next outing, against Burnley, Ole was asked about the future of our no.3.

“Eric has played well when he has played. I know there has been speculation, we are talking to him about his contract so I don’t see any issues really,” the boss explained in his pre-match press conference.

Pushed further on whether the centre-back will be available for Sunday’s Premier League game against Burnley, Ole gave a positive update.

“Eric has been isolating back home in the Ivory Coast and he is back in England now and we hope he can be available for the weekend.

“Hopefully he can train tomorrow [Friday] depending on how he feels within himself but he has had the tests today so we need to get the confirmation that he is still negative.”

It means the Reds could have all four centre-backs available for the clash with the Clarets. Harry Maguire also missed the win over Granada through suspension, meaning Victor Lindelof and Axel Tuanzebe started at the heart of defence, with both putting in splendid performances as the Reds kept another clean sheet in Europe.

There was more positive news on that front earlier this week, with Phil Jones returning to individual training after an extended spell on the sidelines which has seen him miss the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign.