It was Jose Mourinho who signed Eric Bailly for Manchester United - but could a reunion be on the cards?
Having slipped down the pecking order, currently sitting behind Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, the Ivory Coast defender has only made seven appearances in all competitions this season.
According to the Daily Mirror, the 27-year-old is subject to interest from Mourinho and current side Roma.
Mourinho was in charge at United when key figures in the boardroom sanctioned a £34.2million move from Spanish side Villarreal in 2016 - and speculation over his Old Trafford future continues to mount as focus turns to the summer transfer window.
Here is our round-up of comments made by Mourinho about Bailly;
'Bailly is a team player'
During a pre-season tour to the United States, the Ivorian defender was deemed not fit enough to feature on the bench against Liverpool - but put his name forward to start when, incidentally, current Roma player Chris Smalling had to withdraw in the warm-up.
It was a gesture that led Mourinho to lavish praise on Bailly.
He said: "Bailly was not going to play. But when he saw that Smalling in the warm-up was leaving, he decided by himself he did not want another kid on the pitch. It is not fair to Alexis, to Mata, to Herrera and other [senior] guys that are there."
Mourinho added: "He is a team boy, he is a great boy. He is an honest man, always ready to give everything for the team. That is why we have him, why we still have him and why he is going to stay. Football teams need people like him, like Herrera; this kind of people where the club is more important than anything else."
'He coped with situations'
Shortly after completing his switch to Old Trafford in 2016, the former Villarreal man was thrust into the blood and thunder of a Manchester derby. That experience ended in defeat for Bailly and his teammates, but the centre-back was picked out for special praise post-match.
Mourinho said: "We can speak about Eric Bailly and he was playing for Villareal who never played in a derby of this dimension, but was our best player, was the player of the month, and produced a fantastic performance.
"He coped with many situations. So you never know the way players are going to react, especially when you don't know them so well. And after only a couple of months it is too early to know them really well."
Speaking about the same man toward the end of that 2016/17 season, the Portuguese continued: "Bailly and Rojo. They deserve a special mention because they have played in absolutely every game, non-stop, since the injuries of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones."
Those comments came after he helped United tackle fearsome Diego Costa and Chelsea during a 2-0 win.
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'Maybe a little bit naïve'
It was Mourinho who guided United to their most-recent silverware. He won the Europa League and League Cup double in 2017 - although Bailly missed the European showpiece with Ajax after he picked up a red card during the semi-finals against Celta Vigo.
Would you keep or sell Bailly? Have your say in the comments section below.
Still, it was all positive when Mourinho addressed the media post-match.
He said: "I didn't see the incident, but he was phenomenal. The game was emotional and some kept control better than others. Eric was maybe a bit naïve. We lose a very important player [for the final] and we don't have many."
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