‘Leon Bailey exit looks all but done’ as £26m agreement reached away from Aston Villa
Leon Bailey could finally be on his way out of Aston Villa.
The Jamaica international has become a fan favourite since his 2021 move from Bayer Leverkusen, despite a patchy run of form in claret and blue.
Last season, the 27-year-old truly struggled despite his 27-goal involvement the year before, sparking talk of a potential departure this summer.
It now looks as if those rumours are set to come to the fore as an outbound move appears to be growing in likelihood at Villa Park as days go by.
Bailey edges closer to Aston Villa departure
With UEFA still casting an eye over the B6 outfit, there is still a serious need to sell to buy in the last few weeks of the window.
This will require a number of names on big wages to move on, something which has already been seen with the departure of Philippe Coutinho.
Although the prospect of moving on fringe players seems simple, it may prove more difficult to move on an out-of-form ace on big money like Bailey.
With that being said, it seems clear that Unai Emery and Co. feel as though they can move him on before confirming other deals.
This comes after a £26million agreement was reached with OGC Nice over the signing of versatile forward Evann Guessand [Fabrizio Romano, 5 August].
- Full agreement reached with OGC Nice over a £26m deal
- Damian Vidagany pushed hard for the signing, which now looks set to be finalised
- Guessand is preparing to sign a five-year deal at Aston Villa, lasting until 2030
- The Ivorian will fly to Birmingham in the coming days to undergo a medical at Bodymoor Heath
The Villans are now waiting for the Ivory Coast international to undergo his medical before penning a contract until 2030 in claret and blue.
With that in mind, a sale for a regular starter like Bailey would certainly make sense, especially if his place in the squad were to be under threat.
Guessand signing to replace Bailey
The excitement is beginning to build surrounding the 24-year-old as he looks set to represent Villa’s first outfield signing of the summer, with a fee involved.
This has seen Zepiqueno Redmond come in from Feyenoord, although he looks more likely to feature for the under-21s side or go out on loan.
As a result, the signing of Guessand looks to be wise from Monchi, but needs to be funded by the movement of a fringe Villa player.
Moving on Bailey appears to make the most sense, with new links to Besiktas [Matteo Moretto, 5 August], a move could be ever closer in B6.
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