Former Man United defender joins Villarreal - just months after failed move away from Old Trafford

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Eric Bailly has rejoined Villarreal in LaLiga, just a few months after departing Manchester United for Turkish side Besiktas.

The former Old Trafford defender moved to the Premier League for around £30m from the same Spanish club back in 2016, after he had impressed for both the Yellow Submarine and, briefly beforehand, Espanyol.

After initially being a regular for United, injuries and inconsistency blighted Bailly’s six years at the club and he spent his final campaign, 2022/23, out on loan in France with Marseille, before leaving this past summer in a big United clear-out.

However, after joining Besiktas for free, he played only a handful of matches in his couple of months at the club before being frozen out for “poor performances”, the club said, before they announced his contract had been terminated on 29 December.

The Ivory Coast international has rapidly moved to rejoin Villarreal, and team up with former boss Marcelino, also back at the club, with his potential debut coming on 2 January at Valencia.

Bailly played only five league games for third-placed Besiktas, totalling 337 minutes. A host of other former Premier League players are currently at the club, including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arthur Masuaku, Daniel Armartey, Cenk Tosun and Rachid Ghezzal.

Villarreal have been inconsistent in the Spanish top flight this term and sit 13th just before the halfway point of the campaign, six points above the relegation zone under Marcelino, who is similarly in his second spell at the club, and who also spent time at Marseille last season.