THE loan plights of Eric Bailly and Nuno Tavares at Marseille have taken another plunge.
Manchester United central defender Bailly and Arsenal left-back Tavares joined the French giants for the season in search of regular starts.
But a scathing verdict has been delivered on both - for different reasons.
Ivory Coast star Bailly, 28, has impressed... when he's not missing out with injury or picking up a SEVEN-GAME ban for a shocking challenge.
But Portuguese ace Tavares, 23, has struggled defensively, albeit looking menacing when pushing forward.
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And ex-Marseille midfielder Jean-Charles de Bono hopes it's "fake news" that there's a clause in both players' deals forcing the second-placed Ligue 1 club to buy them in the summer.
De Bono also reckons Bailly would be a financial drain.
The pundit told Football Club de Marseille: “If they finish second and you have to keep him on a big salary for the next two years, it’s going to be difficult.
"Today, it would not be a good move for OM. Then again, I don’t know if he’ll have fewer injuries next season or he regains all his feelings. It could then be something else entirely.
"But today, when we talk about it, Bailly is not a good move for OM.
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“I think that in the mind of our manager Igor Tudor he is not one of the priorities.
"Bailly takes himself a bit for someone else, a bit like Tavares.
"We hope that this story of a mandatory purchase option if we finish second is fake news.”