Leon Bailey of Aston Villa
Leon Bailey of Aston Villa (Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Leon Bailey is expected to leave Aston Villa this summer after four years at the club.
He joined from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2021 for around £30m, as one of the three players Villa signed to replace Jack Grealish.
Emi Buendia and Danny Ings were also signed, but Bailey played the biggest role in the club’s progress after a stunning 2023/24 campaign under Unai Emery.
Last season, he scored 14 goals and registered 14 assists in all competitions, but he has struggled for form this term.
Bailey has only scored one Premier League goal and two across all competitions, having also bagged one in the 3-1 win at Club Brugge in the Champions League round of 16.
As he came off the bench in Villa’s final home game of the campaign against Tottenham, it looked like Bailey had a tear in his eye.
Like Emi Martinez, the winger was also emotional about the possibility of playing his final game in B6.
Bailey has interest from clubs in the Saudi Pro League and across Europe heading into the summer transfer window
His future - and the price Villa would demand for him - was discussed by Dan Rolinson and John Townley on our Claret & Blue podcast.
“In his time at Villa, he has had one excellent season, one average season, and one poor one,” Rolinson said. “We signed him for around £30m. The £100m we got from Grealish was spent on him, Ings, and Buendia.
“If we signed him last summer, we could have made a profit from him, but not now. A few years ago, if we made £20m on him, it would have been a great sale. I think somewhere between £18m and £25m.”
Townley added: “I think that’s about right. Teams don’t look at Bailey like a lot of fans can sometimes, when they say, ‘he’s no good, get rid of him,’ but he is a good player.
“Nobody can say what he did last season was a fluke. We’re talking about 50 or so games.
“I would actually go as far as saying his season was one of the best individual seasons I have seen from a Villa player in my lifetime.
“The way he was playing … he was unreal. That was on par with an Ashley Young season. He was that good.
“I would like to think you can get at least £20m for Bailey. If you get over £25m, that could be great business because he has still had a poor season this term.
“He could thrive wherever else he goes because the physical demands won’t be as great as what they are in the Premier League.
"He is still at a good age, and for Villa, they have him with a few years left on his contract. They’re safe in that respect."
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