Jose Mourinho says Manchester United will miss Eric Bailly's speed as he loses star to Africa Cup of Nations
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Jose Mourinho has hailed Eric Bailly as Manchester United's "best" defender because he brings one very important attribute to the back four.
The Red Devils boss was talking about the £30million centre-back - in the above video - ahead of United's trip to London Stadium to take on West Ham.
He admitted that he is frustrated at losing the Ivory Coast international - who will not feature against the Hammers - to the Africa Cup of Nations.
And stated that his speed in one-on-one situations sees him stand out over his teammates as a top performer for the Red Devils.
(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)
In the above clip, Mourinho says: "I know that I lose Bailly for a month, and I'm going to have [Chris] Smalling, [Marcos] Rojo and [Phil] Jones - three players for eight matches.
"So I decided to play Eric and it was good in the end, it was good to have Eric on the pitch because he is the fastest one.
"And to play one against one in the back, he is the best, because he is very fast."
(Photo: Man Utd via Getty Images)
(Photo: Manchester United/Getty Images)
United had hoped the Ivory Coast international - only recently back from a knee injury - would be available for the trip to West Ham, with the club optimistic of delaying his departure by 24 hours.
However, Les Elephants boss Michael Dussuyer insisted that the 22-year-old join up with his country at the earliest available opportunity - the FIFA-mandated date of January 2.