Manchester United will be the perfect place for Eric Bailly to develop, according to one of his former coaches.

The 22-year-old Villarreal defender is being heavily linked with a £31million summer move to Old Trafford and Manolo Marquez, who coached him in Espanyol's 'B' team, feels it would be a great move for his career.

Marquez believes the central defender, who has similar attributes to Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos, would really benefit from playing under a manager like Jose Mourinho.

"I'm absolutely convinced that he'd be a success in England," Marquez told ESPN.

"He's similar to Sergio Ramos and while he's not as good technically, he's much stronger.

"I was surprised when Man United gave Jose Mourinho the job - I don't think it's the right decision - but Mourinho would be good for Eric because Mourinho always has his defences very well organised.

"He's also the type of very strong defender which he likes to work with."