Leon loves latest stop on a beautiful journey
I enjoy every moment in the Premier League. Your time as a player doesn’t last long. You have to make good decisions. Leon Bailey
LEON Bailey insists he is enjoying “every moment” as a Villa player after reaching the Premier League the hard way.
The Jamaica international signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2021 as one of three players recruited to help fill the void left by Jack Grealish’s £100 million transfer to Manchester City.
Bailey hasn’t quite hit the heights expected of him, but has shown flashes of brilliance during his first two seasons with Villa.
His journey began in Austria, when he joined Anif Jugend as a teenager after facing rejection from other clubs across the country. He travelled to Europe with his adoptive father and now agent, Craig Butler, who took him to FC Liefering before then joining Slovenian outfit AS Trencin.
In 2013, Dutch giants Ajax had an agreement in place to sign the winger, but a transfer did not materialise due to FIFA rules, so Bailey joined Belgian side Genk instead. While he developed well at the club, he still looks back on his failed move to Ajax as a setback.
“I remember that well. It was an unfortunate situation,” said Bailey. “I can’t think about it too much any more, because it’s in the past.
“That’s why I wouldn’t say I’m fed up with the past. I’m happy with all the decisions that have been made. It was unfortunate at the time, but now I am an Aston Villa player.
“It turned out like this and I followed a different path.
“I therefore enjoy every moment in the Premier League.
“Your time as a player doesn’t last long. You have to be smart and make good decisions.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to hard work and achieving your goals.
“So far it has been a beautiful journey, I must continue in this way. I still have a long way to go and I hope good things will come my way.”
Last summer, Bailey was heavily linked with a move to Ajax again, as a replacement for Antony who joined Manchester United. Butler sent a warning to Villa that his son should be allowed to leave if he wasn’t in the club’s long-term plans after struggling for form in his first season in the English top flight.
“I strongly advocated that if Aston
Villa don’t want him and won’t use wingers, they let him go to Ajax,” Butler said. “But we came out and he got to play.”
Meanwhile, Matty Cash is expected to miss Villa’s next three matches following a calf injury sustained on international duty.
The right-back was forced off just nine minutes into Poland’s 3-1 defeat to the Czech Republic on Friday.
Cash will be out of the clashes against Chelsea, Leicester and Nottingham Forest, with a return pencilled in for the Newcastle fixture on April 15.
The 25-year-old has been in brilliant form of late, starting the last five games after nudging ahead of Ashley Young in the pecking order. Young will now be the favourite to replace Cash at right-back across the next few fixtures.
Villa are still without Philippe Coutinho (hamstring) and Boubacar Kamara (ankle).