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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that he can nurture Eric Bailly in the same way that he did with Raphael Varane. Mourinho gave defender Bailly his debut for the club in the 2-0 win away against Wigan Athletic on Saturday. During Mourinho's opening news conference, he had said that he did not know if Bailly would be ready for the Premier League, but there were some encouraging signs in the 22-year-old's performance at the DW Stadium. The United boss was in charge of France centre-back Varane, 23, at Real Madrid during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Mourinho told MUTV: "I will give him [Bailly] everything to try to make him better and better, like I did with other central defenders I've had in my hands. Like, for example, Varane, and I will try to make him the best I can. "He's shown the potential we saw when we decided to buy him. He has the potential to become one of the best around." Bailly was Mourinho's first signing for United when he joined the club from Villarreal on June 8. The Ivorian was given 82 minutes at Wigan before being substituted and was given a good reception from the away fans as he came off. Mourinho added: "With Eric, the way the fans showed how much they liked his performance, when I changed him, is enough. Of course, he's a very young boy, coming from a completely different environment, but you could see what he is at this moment. "For Eric, 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, so for him it'll be step by step and that's why I gave him more than 45 minutes. "I wanted to give him more minutes because he needs to play more than others. He needs to feel it and start communicating."
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