Who is Leon Bailey? Why Aston Villa want to sign him and what he will bring to Premier League

Aston Villa target Leon Bailey could be the next player to move to the Birmingham-based club. We take a look at the Bayer Leverkusen star
Jamaica's Leon Bailey (could be on the move to Aston Villa.Jamaica's Leon Bailey (could be on the move to Aston Villa.
Jamaica's Leon Bailey (could be on the move to Aston Villa.

Aston Villa have already spent big this summer, but it looks as though they aren’t done yet.

Leon Bailey is the latest name that has been bandied about recently and it’s a move that has got many fans of the claret & blue buzzing.

Who is Leon Bailey?

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Bailey is 23 years old and a Jamaican international who plays for Bayer Leverkusen.

Where does he play?

Bailey has played predominantly on the left of a front three over the course of his career though has occupied multiple positions, proving that versatility is not a problem for him.

Throughout the 20/21 season, he did spend the majority of his time on the right – 21 appearances to his 11 on the left. That right-wing spot of course is favoured by new club-record signing Emiliano Buendia so seeing how Dean Smith utilises both would be fascinating in itself. One thing is for sure, it wouldn’t be the worst headache to have for the Villa boss.

Could he have played for England?

Bailey grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and has been part of the senior national side since 2019 where he has made nine appearances and scored one goal. There was talk prior to the 2018 World Cup that his international allegiance may well swap to English as he has two grandparents that have British citizenship. This led to England fans spamming the players’ social media posts with emojis of lions and St George’s flag, however, as his grandparents weren’t actually born in England, this made him ineligible for a call up after all.

Club career

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Bailey’s first notable career move came at 18 years old where he joined Belgian giants Genk. After notching up 15 goals and 21 assists in two seasons in Belgium, he started attracting interest from Europe’s bigger leagues and it was Bayer Leverkusen that ultimately landed his signature in January 2017 for €20m.

Since then, it has been year-after-year improvement for the soon to be 24-year-old. 39 goals and 26 assists including experience in Europe along the way can only bode well for the future prospects of the Jamaican.

How do the bookies rate Aston Villa’s chances of signing him?

According to oddschecker, Villa are leading the race by a clear margin for the pacey forward and are strong favourites to land him at evens. The only other two clubs in the fold are Everton (8/1) & Tottenham Hotspur (10/1).