Aston Villa have reportedly received an enquiry from Besiktas regarding a potential move for winger Leon Bailey.
The 27-year-old joined us from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 and has since gone on to make 144 appearances for the club, scoring 22 goals and providing 24 assists.
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While Bailey impressed and established himself as a key figure for Unai Emery the season before last, the Jamaican international struggled to hit top form in the last campaign, as he managed just two goals and four assists in 38 outings, having struggled with injuries and consistency.
That in turn led to question marks over his future at Villa this summer, and now according to Matteo Moretto, Besiktas have asked about the winger with a view of potentially launching a bid to sign him.
This latest speculation comes as L’Equipe report that Villa have agreed a deal to sign Evann Guessand from OGC Nice in a possible €35m swoop, and so with that in mind, perhaps the club need to make a sale in order to create space in the squad and balance our books.
Given Bailey’s struggles to provide us with a consistent threat and end product down the right flank, he is arguably the prime candidate to make way if Guessand does indeed arrive this week, and so much will possibly now hinge on what Besiktas are willing to offer in order to prise him away from Villa Park.
It would certainly be a shame to see him leave as we saw how effective and impactful he can be for Emery when he’s fully fit, confident and playing at a high level, but with Villa looking to compete on multiple fronts again this season coupled with the pressure on each individual to perform and contribute, can the Basque coach continue to rely on Bailey to play such a key role?
Time will ultimately tell as we’ll likely get answers in the coming days and weeks as our transfer activity ramps up, but there could be a reshuffle in that department to come and it may well involve an exit to go along with our touted incoming.
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