Villarreal new boy Eric Bailly has spoken of his pride at joining the Yellow Submarine after finally being unveiled.
Bailly left Espanyol for El Madrigal late in the transfer window as a replacement for Arsenal-bound Gabriel Paulista, but his commitments in the Africa Cup of Nations have delayed his start at his new club.
But with the tournament now over, the Ivory Coast international is raring to get going under the leadership of Marcelino.
“I am very happy to be here. It’s a great club and I’m proud to play for Villarreal,” he told reporters, according to AS.
“I’ll try to do everything I can to get the team as far as possible.
“I heard they were interested but I was focused on the national team. But I was pleased to have the interest of such a big club.
“The team has young players like me. They’re given confidence here and that’s good. I can adapt with their help.
“Gabriel was a great player, although I didn’t see much of him. I’ll try to do what I can to surpass what other players have done here.
“I saw Villarreal against Barcelona and I realised we have a great team with young players.”
Bailly concluded by touching on Ivory Coast’s successful Africa Nations, the Elephants beating Ghana on penalties in the final.
“It was an honour to be with my national team. We believed in victory and thankfully we won the Cup,” he added.
