Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey was left out of our squad for the pre-season encounter with Real Sociedad due to injury amid speculation over his future.
The 28-year-old was forced off after just 20 minutes or so in our meeting with Porto last weekend, with many linking the decision to rumours that he might be leaving imminently.
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However, it did appear as though he was struggling with an injury issue, and that in turn contributed to the decision to not risk him at the Bescot Stadium on Tuesday night.
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According to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, the Jamaican international experienced muscle tightness in Portugal on Saturday night and was subsequently replaced to avoid aggravating the issue further, but he adds that given the expectation that he will be leaving this summer, the decision was made to not take any risks with him.
It’s a sensible move as although on one hand Bailey getting minutes to try and impress any interested parties could make the difference in moving him on this summer, if he were to worsen his injury issue and face a spell on the sidelines, that could scupper a move entirely.
Speculation suggests that Hull City are pursuing him this summer to bolster their attacking options ahead of their return to the top flight, and that is a move that surely would make sense for all concerned.
From a Villa perspective, it certainly would be the right call to move Bailey on now, as aside from the fact that he is in his final year of his contract, he has struggled to make a meaningful impact for some time now despite the ongoing faith from Unai Emery to give him minutes, and so we could undoubtedly do with an upgrade in that department.
While the intention is surely to sign a replacement once he has moved on and we’ve cleared his salary from our wage bill, it’s hoped that it happens sooner rather than later in order to give the club plenty of time to bring in the right signing and for them to have an opportunity to settle in over pre-season.
As for his injury and midweek absence though, it sounds more precautionary than anything else to avoid complicating a possible departure.
