COMMENT: Villarreal's Eric Bailly may not have been the first name on the list of Manchester United fans' players to sign when Jose Mourinho was announced as the new manager at Old Trafford, but they could be getting a real star in the making.

The 22-year-old could cost the Red Devils around £30 million (€38 million) and that would be some outlay for a defender that has played just 51 professional games in his short career.

How much he costs though will not be an issue if Bailly continues his rapid rise to prominence upon his impending arrival in the Premier League. They may even begin to think that they have a bargain.

"For me he is a spectacular player, I have complete faith in his ability," Sergio González, the coach that gave him his professional debut at Espanyol stated. "He has all the fundamentals to be a first division player."

The now former Blanc i Blau head coach was proven to be right as he promoted Bailly from the club's B team into first division action, along with a host of home-grown youngsters.

So highly rated was the Ivory Coast defender that when a move to Villarreal was first mooted in early January 2015, he was also linked with Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Juventus.

Bailly was nurtured by the Promoesport football schools in Ivory Coast and had arrived in Barcelona to sign for Espanyol in December 2011 after a successful trial.

While no money changed hands for his services, Espanyol only obtained 50 per cent of his contract rights, the rest being kept by Promoesport.

Bureaucracy meant that he could not play immediately, but once that was sorted he began to gain the attention of not just Espanyol's coaching staff, but also other clubs.

In 2013, Sport, the Barcelona-based Spanish daily paper, remarked how impressed the head coach at the time, Javier Aguirre, was.

"The young Ivory Coast central defender has revolutionised the B team and has Aguirre's assistants' focus on him. 'Sooner rather than later he will move up to train with the first team'", said the report.

Sport's reporter added that coaches had also stated: "He should be protected. Eric is going to be a star of the future and he will come to the attention of many clubs."

They were not wrong and on 5 October 2014, he made his debut, albeit as a last-minute substitute, against Real Sociedad and a week later played his first full game in the Liga BBVA in a draw against Villarreal.

His talents were also being recognised further afield as he was called up by the Ivory Coast for two friendly games ahead of the 2015 African Cup of Nations.

Then, after just five games for the Blanc i Blau, Bailly was the subject of strong interest from Villarreal as they sought a replacement for Arsenal-bound Gabriel Paulista. They knew they were on to a winner.

Espanyol had the option to buy 30 per cent more of the player's rights, but did not have the €200,000 required and with Promoesport rumoured to be pushing for a move, the club eventually said yes when the Yellow Submarine raised their offer from €10 to €15 million.

That was €7.5 million for each party involved and looked to be good business at the time for the cash-strapped club, but even though they will now earn five per cent of the fee paid by Manchester United, it could have been so different.

Bailly was unfazed by the sudden move and his rise to prominence was continuing after the transfer was concluded as he played in all six games as Ivory Coast won the African Cup of Nations.

Espanyol's regular press pack are not surprised that the player is now on the verge of a move to even bigger things as they have long been reporting that scouts from Europe's elite have been tracking him.

Alex Franquet, who has covered both Barça and the Blanc i Blau for many years for El Correo, recognised that he should be a success at Old Trafford and will not take long to adapt.

"Espanyol were almost powerless to stop him leaving due to the financial issues back then, but they always knew Bailly was going to be a success and did not want to lose him," he told Tribalfootball.com.

“He will show early on that he can make it at Manchester United and Villarreal will be pleased to see him move up, but also sad to see him leave."

Doubts may persist about some areas of his game, in particular his inexperience, but the centre-half, who can also play at right-back, is a very quick and keen learner.

English will not be an issue as Spanish came very quickly to Bailly and he is said to be very level-headed and not one to think he has made it before he has.

While United supporters may want what they know in players such as Everton's John Stones, Mourinho and his scouting staff know that in Bailly they are signing a diamond that is no longer rough, but still needs just a slight polish.