Leon Bailey playing 'best football' of Aston Villa career after major change

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·5 November 2023

Leon Bailey playing 'best football' of Aston Villa career after major change

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey is currently “playing the best football of his time at the club”, as journalist Dean Jones provides GIVEMESPORT with an internal update from Villa Park on his potential upturn in form.

Villans head coach Unai Emery has enjoyed an exceptional year in charge of the West Midlands giants, transitioning them from Premier League relegation candidates to Europa Conference League participants.

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Villa have started the current season off brightly, challenging at the top of the Premier League and topping their group on the continent. Emery has got the best out of his squad and could look to make further improvements during the winter transfer window.

Much was expected of Bailey when Aston Villa confirmed his signing from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £25m. The winger had bagged 28 goals in 119 Bundesliga appearances, providing then-manager Dean Smith with more width and pace on the flanks.

However, Bailey could never replicate his Leverkusen form at Villa Park and spent his first season floundering under the management of Smith and then Steven Gerrard. The appointment of Emery was a chance for the Jamaica international to showcase his talent and justify his price tag. Still, the Spanish head coach often opted for Emiliano Buendia, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn in wide positions ahead of him.

Bailey’s time at Villa could have been numbered this season, following the club-record arrival of Leverkusen and France winger Moussa Diaby for £51.9m. Buendia’s long-term injury could have allowed Bailey to nail down a regular spot in Emery’s starting lineup, but the club responded with the loan signing of Nicolo Zaniolo from Galatasaray.

It would have been easy for the 26-year-old to call it a day at Villa Park in search of new pastures, but he remained to fight for his place at the club. Villa’s participation in the Europa Conference League offers more room for squad rotation, with Bailey being one of the beneficiaries.

The winger has enjoyed an upturn in form this season despite having more competition for places in the squad. Sunday People chief sports writer Neil Moxley has recently suggested to GIVEMESPORT that Bailey now has a future at Villa Park, having looked to have seen his days numbered during the summer transfer window.

Dean Jones update – Leon Bailey

Jones attributes Bailey’s upturn in fortunes to the arrival of Diaby, which may have spurred him on to play to the best of his abilities. The journalist also claims there’s never been any doubt about the winger’s potential as a footballer. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“I think such competition in that side now has probably driven him to hit higher levels. Having Diaby in there has probably also brought something else out of him. There's no doubt about Bailey's potential as a footballer and his capabilities. But in the past six months, maybe even a year, there's been doubt about how long he would stay at Aston Villa. But certainly, you can say right now it looks like he's playing the best football of his time at the club.”

Aston Villa transfer news

Whilst Bailey has proven his importance to Villa’s squad, his place could still be under threat if the club decide to further strengthen during the winter transfer market, which opens on 1st January.

According to Portuguese media (via Sport Witness), the Villans want to sign Sporting CP winger Pedro Goncalves. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man is tied to the Lisbon giants until the summer of 2027 and has a release clause worth €80m (close to £70m). His deal with Sporting suggests any buyer would have to cough up an excessive fee close to the release clause to tempt the Portuguese outfit into a sale.

Meanwhile, 90min reports that a Premier League quartet, including Aston Villa, are monitoring Nico Williams’ situation at Athletic Bilbao. The Villans failed with an attempt to sign the Spain international during the summer transfer window but could reignite their interest in the new year alongside Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. European giants Bayern Munich and Juventus have also been credited with an interest in the speedster.

Williams is in an intriguing situation, given his contract expires next summer, and he will be able to speak to clubs from abroad about a potential free transfer at the end of the season if he hasn’t penned a new deal with Bilbao in January. Therefore, Bailey must continue to be motivated to perform at such a high standard to keep his place at Villa Park.