Aston Villa have reportedly made an offer worth €30m to Bayer Leverkusen for Leon Bailey, but the German outfit want €35m to green light an exit.
Bailey, 23, enjoyed an impressive season last year as he scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 40 appearances for the Bundesliga side.
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Predominantly used on the right wing, the Jamaican international can play across the line and with his pace, technical quality and creativity in the final third, he has emerged as one of the top talents in Europe.
According to Bild, Villa have launched a €30m offer to try and prise him away from Leverkusen, but they want €35m in order to consider an exit.
It’s added that Leicester City and Wolves are also interested, while his stepfather, Craig Butler, has spoken about the situation and has ultimately revealed that the two sides are currently in discussions and time will tell if things fall into place for a transfer to materialise this summer.
“There are different interested parties from the Premier League. We are considering the options,” he said, as per the report above. “It is important that Leon takes the right step. Therefore it has not yet been decided whether he will change this transfer window or later.
“The clubs are holding talks. Leon feels at home in Leverkusen. There will only be a change if everyone is satisfied.”
That would suggest that if the two clubs can reach an agreement on a transfer fee, it may still take some convincing Bailey to make the move to Villa Park, as this will be a crucial move in his career which could allow him to take the next step.
Villa will undoubtedly continue to hope and believe that Jack Grealish will stay at the club, and so pairing him with Bailey, Ollie Watkins and summer signing Emiliano Buendia, Villa could have an attack that will cause any side problems in the Premier League this year.
Time will tell how much more activity there is for us in this transfer window, but we’re certainly far from done as things stand.