Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Jamaican international winger Leon Bailey from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.
As confirmed on the club’s official website, Aston Villa have made their third signing of the summer transfer window, with Leon Bailey completing a switch from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 23-year-old Bailey started out at the Phoenix All Stars academy back in his homeland Jamaica, before making the switch to the youth setup of Austrian outfit USK Anifin 2011. He signed for Slovakian AS Trencin in 2013, where he spent a couple of years before moving to Belgian outfit KRC Genk, which is where he burst onto the stage.
After having caught the eyes of several top teams across Europe, Bailey opted to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in January 2017. The 23-year-old was not always the most consistent performer during his time in Germany but showed a lot of improvement of late, especially in the 2020/21 season when he finished with 15 goals and 11 assists in 40 games for Die Werkself.
A move to Aston Villa had been in the works for a while now, with talks over a transfer ramping up last month. And, a move has now been completed, with the Jamaican international signing a four-year contract with the Midlands’ outfit.
What will @LeonBailey bring to Aston Villa? ?
"I'm always there for the team whenever the team needs me, and always put on a great show for the fans." ?#WelcomeLeon
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 4, 2021
Bailey becomes Aston Villa’s third signing of the summer after the arrival of Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City while former star Ashley Young was also brought back from Inter Milan on a free transfer.
Upon the completion of the latest signing, manager Dean Smith said: “Leon is a hugely exciting young striker with great pace and creativity. He has enjoyed a successful career at Leverkusen and we are now looking forward to watching him show his skills and talents for Aston Villa in the Premier League.”
Bailey’s signing comes a time when Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish could be headed out the exit doors. The 25-year-old is a subject of a mega offer by Manchester City and could very well be Etihad-bound in the coming days. Irrespective of what happens with the future of the England international, Bailey promises to be a top signing for the Villans.
Able to play anywhere across the frontline, the new signing will add more threat and flair to the attacking unit for Villa, and could potentially be the replacement for Grealish in case he ends up switching to Manchester City before the transfer window closes.
