Eric Bailly to Manchester United: Villarreal defender completes medical, set to be Jose Mourinho's first signing

Manchester United are set to announce their first signing of the summer after Villarreal defender Eric Bailly passed his medical at the club on Tuesday (7 June). Jose Mourinho had made the defender a priority signing since his arrival and has beaten off competition from a number of clubs including Arsenal and Manchester City to land his signature.

According to the Guardian, the 20-time English champions have agreed an amount of around £25m ($36m) plus add-ons with the La Liga club after the Portuguese manager deemed him good enough to be a long-term defender for United. Daley Blind's place in the squad is becoming increasingly doubtful, with Sky Sports already having reported that he will be offloaded along with a host of other players.

Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw, who will return from injury for the start of next season, seem to be the only certainties in defence for United, and Bailly's arrival is likely to install him as the England international's partner at the heart of the back four. Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia are Mourinho's options at right-back at the moment.

The 22-year-old Ivory Coast international joined Villarreal during the 2015 January transfer window for £4m after coming through the youth system at Espanyol. He was signed by the Yellow Submarines as a replacement for Gabriel, who joined Arsenal in the same window. The highly-rated defender is a regular with his national team and played a key role in helping them win the Africa Cup of Nations last year.

Mourinho is also targeting a move for a striker and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is said to be favourite to join the ranks at United after leaving Paris Saint-Germain following the expiry of his contract. According to Sky Sports, the Sweden striker has agreed a one-year deal with the Red Devils and will be the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager's marquee signing of the summer.