Bailey inks 3-year deal with Villa
JAMAICAN INTERNATIONAL Leon Bailey has signed a new three-year deal with English Premier League club Aston Villa with the option to extend for another year.
Aston Villa made the announcement on their social media pages with his contract set to run through to June 2027, with the option for an extension to June 2028 should both parties agree.
“The story continues!” the club posted in a post on Instagram. “Aston Villa is pleased to announce that Leon Bailey has signed a new contract with the club!”
Bailey, 26, has seen an impressive turn of form this season for the Birmingham-based club, having scored 10 goals and getting nine assists in 33 appearances in all competitions.
This is in stark contrast to his first season with the club following his transfer from German outfit Bayer Leverkusen.
Bailey would only find the back of the net once and supply two assists in his first season in England, having struggled with injuries that hampered his dedut season.
Since then, the exciting winger has gone on to bag 16 goals and 15 assists in 87 appearances for Villa, and his adopted father and agent, Craig Butler, said the upturn in form was inevitable for Bailey.
According to Butler, Bailey’s poor start to life in England was because of injuries and taking the time to adapt to football in England. With those issues behind him, Butler is confident that Bailey will become a key player in Aston Villa’s future.
“Many times throughout this period of time when Leon didn’t perform at his best or got an injury, many people would like to call him a flop. I remember distinctly standing up for him and saying that he will shine and if you believe in someone, you never stop believing in them.
“He has adapted well and I’m very proud of him. I think he will have a very instrumental role, he’s a team player. He will score when he should score and he will pass when he should pass. These are the lessons that we taught him as a youngster and we’re confident he will continue to contribute to his team,” Butler said.
Villa manager Unai Emery said extending Bailey’s stay at the club had been a foregone conclusion.
“I spoke with him this year when we started preseason about how we could improve different issues, different things he wasn’t showing us in a consistent way,” Emery said ahead of Villa’s FA Cup clash with Chelsea last week.
“And his reaction was fantastic. His commitment has improved, his focus, working harder every day – scoring goals and assists.
“And we decided, more or less, one month ago, he deserved to extend his contract.”