Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey has been heavily linked with a big-money move to Neom SC as he looks set for a possible exit this summer.
The 27-year-old arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 and has since gone on to make 144 appearances for the club, scoring 22 goals and providing 24 assists in those outings.
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Bailey found his best form under Unai Emery in the 2023/24 campaign, but he struggled with injuries and inconsistency this past season, contributing just two goals and four assists in 38 games.
With Villa said to be under pressure this month to sell in order to comply with PSR and avoid any sanctions, the Jamaican international is arguably one of the top candidates to move on and alleviate some of that pressure, and it appears as though a possible interested party has now emerged.
According to The Sun, Neom SC have made an offer worth £25m to prise Bailey away from Villa as they have ambition plans following their promotion to the top flight of Saudi Arabian football, while it’s added that his agents have already held talks with officials from the club over a potential switch.
It’s also noted that Bailey would be in line to make a significant salary if a deal is agreed, but time will tell if the touted interest is legitimate, and whether or not the clubs can reach an agreement on a transfer fee as well as Bailey agreeing on personal terms.
With Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, Donyell Malen, John McGinn and potential incomings this summer giving us plenty of options in the final third out wide, Bailey has dropped down the pecking order this past year, and it feels as though it could be a long way back for him to establish himself under Unai Emery again, especially after he was given multiple opportunities to repay faith shown in him and fell short.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out last season, and with Villa looking to continue to progress and compete at the top level, there will have to be an element of ruthlessness when building this squad now, as if players aren’t able to perform at their best and make a fundamental contribution to our success, we will look elsewhere to try to improve and upgrade if necessary.
Albeit the report above suggests that selling Bailey could be an option this month, nothing is agreed as of yet, and with Villa needing to raise funds to balance our books before June 30, it remains to be seen if he emerges as the solution to a major headache to start the summer transfer window.
It would certainly be disappointing to see him leave as we’ve seen how effective he can be and he’s emerged as a fans’ favourite during his time with us having initially thrived under Emery in particular, but if Villa feel they can afford to let him go and ultimately improve in that department, it could be one of our first deals of the summer.
