Pace ace Bailey looking to blaze a trail for Villa
►Jamaican lit up Bundesliga with his speed, but only after scouring Europe with his adoptive father to find a club
He is one of the fastest men in football, counts Usain Bolt among his closest friends, and is now ready to scorch a trail in the Premier League. Leon Bailey is the £25million signing whom Aston Villa have recruited to add speed to their forward line, yet his journey to Birmingham has been more of a marathon than a sprint.
He turned 24 this month, but it seems there has been a buzz around the Jamaican winger for some time, ever since he emerged from the talent factory of Belgian club KRC Genk which has also produced Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois.
Bailey is poised to make his Villa home debut against Newcastle today and there is huge excitement behind the scenes over what he can offer Dean Smith’s team.
Direct, skilful and comfortable with the ball at both feet, Bailey has all the attributes required to succeed, aligned with the explosive pace that led to Frank de Boer once claiming “he’s so fast it’s not normal”.
Bailey’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen ended a lengthy pursuit by Johan Lange, Villa’s sporting director. Even before the £100million sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City, Bailey was identified as a priority this summer, with Smith and Lange determined to sign players with pace.
A modern, athletic footballer who can play in various positions across the forward line, Bailey is the thirdfastest sprinter recorded in the Bundesliga at 22.62mph, behind only Alphonso Davies and Achraf Hakimi.
With Villa’s recruitment driven by data and analytics, Bailey’s numbers last season (nine goals and nine assists), plus his age, made him their leading target. With Bayer Leverkusen keen to raise money, Villa struck a deal worth £25 million, with an extra £2.5million in add-ons.
Bailey’s path to Villa has been unpredictable yet rewarding. Born in Kingston – where he now has an academy – a teenage Bailey and his adoptive father, Craig Butler, travelled around Europe in search of a club, but Fifa regulations proved problematic and it was in the unlikely surroundings of Slovakia, with AS Trencin, where the journey began. A move to Genk followed in 2015, and Bailey’s star began to rise.
After his first season, aged 19, he was named the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year.
Dimitri De Conde, the Genk technical director, said: “All the coaches at the time said he was the best player to ever pass through the academy. That really means something, if you look at some of the players that have come through our academy over the years.
“In his first season he had a big advantage, being able to play with both feet; he was so mobile and quick that he could beat all the defenders in the Belgian league. We used him more as an offensive winger.”
Genk fielded many inquiries from Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea, but it was Leverkusen who offered Bailey a platform to further his career in January 2017.
It was under the management of Peter Bosz that Bailey really began to improve and develop his allround game. Bosz is a Johan Cruyff disciple devoted to attacking, high-intensity football, so Bailey was always going to flourish.
His ability to cut inside from the right wing on his left foot, evoking memories of Arjen Robben, became a trademark. He etched his name into club history in November 2019 by scoring both goals in the 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich, Leverkusen’s first win at the Allianz Arena for more than seven years. Bailey endured some injury problems in 2019-20, but last season produced his best campaign, under first Bosz and then his interim successor, Hannes Wolf, growing in stature after Kai Havertz’s move to Chelsea. Lange and Villa’s scouting team had seen enough.
Bailey is now determined to seize his chance in English football and emulate the achievements of another close friend, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling.
He gave a glimpse of his abilities in an exciting 30-minute appearance as a substitute in Villa’s defeat at Watford last Saturday, and is expected to play some part today. “He is still really young and his best years are still to come,” De Conde said. “He is also now a father, so in his life he will become a little bit more calm.
“With the talent that he has I’m really convinced he can be a sensation in the Premier League.”