Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey is reportedly being considered as a potential transfer target by Manchester United ahead of the transfer deadline on Monday.
The 27-year-old joined us from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 and enjoyed his best season with us last year as he has relished working with Unai Emery to improve and develop his game.
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However, he has struggled to replicate that so far this year as he has registered just one goal and three assists in 29 appearances across all competitions, and that is ultimately not productive enough from a player who has such a key role in our side.
While Bailey has shown glimpses of his quality and his work ethic and desire can’t be questioned, it just hasn’t come off for him so far this season as he has looked short of confidence amid injury troubles, and that has had a negative impact on his ability to be decisive in the final third.
Despite that, The Athletic report that Man Utd have shortlisted him as a potential transfer target in the next 24 hours or so to bolster their attacking options.
It remains to be seen if that progresses into them making an official bid to Villa, but Emery and the club could face an important decision if that does materialise, as it remains to be seen if Bailey still forms part of their long-term plans or not.
Villa are expected to complete the loan signings of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio ahead of the deadline, but their arrivals go towards replacing Jhon Duran and Emiliano Buendia who departed earlier this week.
If Bailey were to leave, it’s unclear if that would mean another replacement would be needed, and so that will undoubtedly be part of the Villa management’s thinking, as we don’t want to be left short.
The expectation is that there could be a lot of moving pieces in the next day or so as Villa must also address our issues at centre-half, and while that is likely to be the priority after the Rashford and Asensio deals are completed, time will tell if we’re in the market for a Bailey replacement if we’re willing to let him leave, should an offer arrive.
On one hand, it would be a shame to see him go as he’s emerged as a key figure for Emery and undoubtedly improved during his time with us. That said, such are the high standards and demands now for Villa, if someone isn’t producing consistently enough at the level required, we have to display an element of ruthlessness to ensure we keep progressing and become more competitive.
