'Hopefully he will help us' - Bailly wants Lindelof at Man Utd

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly wants to play with Victor Lindelof as the Benfica man seemingly nears a move to Old Trafford.

Lindelof, 22, is reportedly set to join United despite manager Jose Mourinho having ruled out signing a defender in January.

Bailly, away on international duty with Ivory Coast, said he would happily welcome Lindelof to United.

"I hope to play with him. Hopefully he will help us," he told Fotbollskanalen after his nation's 2-1 win over Sweden in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

"He is a very good player. He has great qualities and will certainly do well if he comes to us."

Although it would add competition for a place in United's defence, Bailly said it would boost his team – and he believes his partnership with Lindelof would be strong.

"We have many good central defenders – Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones – but I hope I get to play with Lindelof," he said.

"I don't have a guaranteed place and I know I have to be good to play. We're all fighting to play. I think we have done well. We have done our best.

"The day we get to play, if it comes, we must take advantage of that opportunity. I think we would fit well together."

Bailly was left on the bench for Ivory Coast's win as Wilfried Zaha marked his debut by setting up Giovanni Sio for the winning goal early in the second half.

Zaha, who previously played twice for England's senior side, came on at half-time and made an instant impact as his cross from the right was headed in by Sio.

Sweden had gone ahead through a Wilfried Kanon own goal before Serge N'Guessan equalised in first-half additional time.