Jose Mourinho likens Manchester United's Eric Bailly to Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane

Jose Mourinho says he will do everything he can to turn Eric Bailly into Manchester United's own version of Raphael Varane.

Bailly, 22, became the first signing of the Mourinho era, moving to Old Trafford from Villarreal for a reported fee of £30m ($39.8m). The new manager is keen for the Ivory Coast international to acclimatise to English football as soon as possible, and handed him his first start in the friendly victory over Wigan Athletic on 16 July.

While he was largely untested by Wigan's attack, Bailly provided a handful of eye-catching moments in his first outing as a United player. Mourinho is already impressed with his potential.

"I will give him everything to try to make him better, like I did with other central defenders I've had in my hands, like, for example, Varane," Mourinho said.

"I will try to make him the best I can. He has shown the potential we saw when we decided to buy him. He is a very young boy coming from a completely different environment, but you could see what he is at this moment.

"This was the first time he has worn a shirt like the Manchester United shirt. He can't speak English and can only communicate with the ones who are French speakers or Spanish. I want to give him more minutes because he needs to play more than others. He needs to feel it and start communicating."

Bailly will have more opportunities in the coming weeks to impress his new manager against sterner opposition. United set out for the Far East for International Champions Cup matches against Borussia Dortmund (22 July) and Manchester City (25 July), before taking on Galatasaray in Gothenburg on 30 July.

Mourinho's side take on Premier League champions Leicester City in the FA Community Shield on 7 August.