Leon Bailey is set to snub Manchester United to move to Bayer Leverkusen after Roger Schmidt confirmed that the winger is having his medical at the club.
Bayer Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt has revealed that the highly rated Genk winger Leon Bailey has undergone his medical with the club ahead of sealing a move in the coming days, thus bringing about an end to widespread links with Manchester United and several other clubs.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of Bayer’s match against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, Schmidt said: “Leon Bailey is currently going through a medical here with us. There are still a few details to sort out but the probability that he will wear a Bayer 04 shirt is not low.”
“Leon Bailey ist gerade im Medizincheck. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass er für uns spielen wird, ist also nicht gering.” #Schmidt #B04BMG pic.twitter.com/qJBLN17IVq
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) January 27, 2017
Leon Bailey has been a talent on the up and up in the last two years in European football after signing for Belgian club Genk in August 2015. The 2015/16 season proved to be the breakthrough season for the Jamaican wonderkid, as he won the Jupiler Pro League’s Young Player of the Year.
Bailey’s stock has only risen further this season, bagging 8 goals and 10 assists for the Belgian outfit. And it is the Europa League in particular where the 19-year-old has impressed the most, scoring seven times in the main draw as well as the qualifiers of the tournament at an impressive rate of 151 minutes per goal.
Bailey had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the last few months, with the winger said to be part of Jose Mourinho’s planned squad overhaul at Old Trafford. With pace and width severely missing from his attack, a winger was rumoured to be on top of his wishlist.
Leon Bailey has been directly involved in 6 goals in 6 group stage games for Genk this season (4 goals, 2 assists). #UEL pic.twitter.com/1GqeZrnB9F
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) January 25, 2017
Baily had himself previously admitted that he could be interested in a move to Manchester United if he became a regular in the first team.
Manchester United weren’t the only club who were linked with the highly rated youngster, with the likes of Everton, Hull City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Nice, Lyon and AS Roma all rumoured to be interested in signing Bailey.
However, it now looks like the 19-year-old is set to finalise a move to BayArena instead, after Roger Schmidt’s confirmation on Friday. Bailey will be an exciting addition to a side that has struggled for goals for large parts of the 2016/17 season.
The Jamaican whizkid will bring pace and dribbling skills to the Bayer Leverkusen side, and after adding goals to his game as well, he has become a dangerous proponent for any opposition defence. So, Bailey’s addition is one that could potentially pay off big for Bayer Leverkusen.
