Aston Villa flop once targeted by Liverpool is humbled by Ajax interest

In partnership with

caughtoffside

·30 August 2022

Aston Villa flop once targeted by Liverpool is humbled by Ajax interest

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey is reportedly humbled by interest from Ajax with the Eredivisie side set to embark on finding a replacement for Manchester United-bound Brazil star Antony over the next three days of the window.

Antony is likely to be announced today with his departure from the Amsterdam-outfit costing Erik ten Hag roughly £80m – which would make the former Sao Paulo talent their second most-expensive hero of all-time.

OneFootball Videos

As a result, Ajax are said to be in the hunt for his services in a bid to replace Bailey, who has so far flopped under Steven Gerrard and Dean Smith.

But despite the move, his agent and father Craig Butler has suggested the Bailey could go on to become one of the ‘best players in the world’ in just two years’ time, whilst also remaining humble towards the club that took a chance on him from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.

“I think that Leon Bailey is one of the top wingers in the world, and has the potential to become one of the top five players in the world, in the next two years maximum,” Butler told Football Transfers.

“He plays football first for the love of the game and has great ambition, the support of the fans are important to him and to me. It is my responsibility to ensure I do everything in my power to keep him on the pitch, so that he can achieve those goals.

“We are no strangers to Ajax and respect the club immensely and its commitment to total football. We also made a commitment to Aston Villa and them to us, and that commitment is based on Leon achieving his goals and getting the playing time, to realise his potential and deliver for Aston Villa.”

Bailey has started just two games of Premier League football this season, losing both as Villa continue to struggle to a bottom-half finish.

MORE: Exclusive: Wesley Fofana transfer to be official imminently, but he was not Chelsea’s third or fourth choice