Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag responds to Eric Bailly's sensational claims that club favour picking English players

ERIK TEN HAG has responded to Eric Bailly's extraordinary claims that Manchester United favoured English players when picking the side.

Ivory Coast defender Bailly, who has gone out on loan to Marseille, accused the club of making team choices based on nationality in recent years.

He added that some of the English players "took it for granted" that they would be selected, and hoped new boss Ten Hag would change that mentality

Ahead of United's Europa League clash with Real Sociedad, Ten Hag said he could not comment on previous managers' selection policy.

But when asked if nationality was an issue for him when picking his teams, he replied: "Not for me."

The defender signed for United for £30million from Villarreal in 2016 but has found first-team opportunities increasingly difficult to come by.

Injury issues did also not help his cause.

Now at Marseille, Bailly told the Times that United should be more like Chelsea in terms of team selection.

He said: "The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance.

"Encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some.

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"I always had the feeling that the national player was prioritised. That doesn't happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs.

"Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team.

"Luckily, Ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic."

After a horror start which featured a humiliation at Brentford, Ten Hag has managed to turn things around at United.

Wins against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester came before an impressive and hard-fought victory against league leaders Arsenal.