José Mourinho is on the verge of making his first signing at Old Trafford after the Villarreal defender Eric Bailly underwent a medical at Manchester United.

The clubs have agreed a fee of around €32 million plus add-ons for the 22-year-old Ivory Coast international who can play across the back four and, at 6ft 1in tall, has the physical prowess to prosper in the Premier League.

Mourinho saw his priority as strengthening his defence and Bailly quickly became his primary target, nothwithstanding the overtures to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The newly-installed manager has seen enough raw talent to believe Bailly could be a long-term centre half for United and has seen off a host of interested clubs.

Leicester and Arsenal also registered their interest in signing Bailly though Manchester City had turned their attentions to Athletic Bilbao and the French defender Aymeric Laporte.

Bailly joined Villarreal for €5 million in January 2015 as a replacement for Gabriel, who had left for Arsenal. He had moved to Spain at the age of 17 after being spotted at a youth tournament in Burkina Faso and came through Espanyol’s youth team. He played just five times in La Liga for the first team before joining Villarreal but quickly became a regular in the side that finished fourth last season and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. Bailly was in the side that beat Liverpool in the first leg of the semi-final at the Estadio El Madrigal.

The defender was also named in the squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as an uncapped player, before making his international debut in a friendly against Nigeria in January 2015. He started all six games in the tournament as they went on to be crowned champions.

(Guardian service)