Former Manchester United midfielder Lee Sharpe has lavished praise on summer recruit Eric Bailly, branding the Ivorian centre-back "an absolute gem".

Bailly was one of four new players that arrived at Old Trafford in the summer, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also joining Jose Mourinho at Man United.

Sharpe hailed the arrivals of Ibrahimovic and Pogba, but picked out centre-back Bailly as the one that has "stood out" in the early weeks of the campaign.

"Ibrahimovic is obviously going to be a massive star, and so is Pogba, but I think the one that's stood out for me at the moment is Bailly the centre-half," Sharpe told reporters.

"He looks quick, decent on the ball, he reads the game really well. If he continues to play like he has done in the first few games I think they've found an absolute gem."

Bailly, who moved to the Premier League from Villarreal, has started all four of Man United's competitive matches this season.