£50m sale and Unai Emery tweak – Where it all went wrong for Leon Bailey at Aston Villa
Leon Bailey is seemingly destined for the exit door at Aston Villa.
It has been the worst-kept secret at Villa Park that the Jamaica international is seen as an expendable player this summer.
This has been matched by Bailey’s agent pushing for a switch to Besiktas earlier in the window, but a deal is yet to go through at this stage.
With this transfer saga looking like continuing beyond the opening Premier League clash of the season against Newcastle, Villa News has examined where it went wrong for the winger.
Unai Emery tactical change harmed Leon Bailey
It is impossible to say that anything Emery does has had a negative impact on the B6 club since coming in from Villarreal back in 2022.
That isn’t to say that the Spaniard has worked wonders for each and every player, with some struggling at times to match the newfound expectations.
This certainly wasn’t the case for Bailey in the opening two seasons under the 53-year-old, as he began to finally flourish in claret and blue.
It was the 2023/24 campaign where the Jamaican truly flourished as the 4-4-2 approach helped get the best out of his talents on the right flank.
This changed to a 4-2-3-1 for the most recent season as focus was placed on the wide players to drive more into the middle of the park, like Morgan Rogers and John McGinn love to do.
| Stat | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
| Appearances | 52 | 38 |
| Goals | 14 | 2 |
| Assists | 13 | 4 |
It is fair to say that this isn’t Bailey’s game, despite his tendency to cut inside, which ultimately saw his goal and assists output drop considerably last year.
This is only part of the picture, however, as it was the change in personnel within the squad at Villa Park which also had a telling impact on his fortunes.
Moussa Diaby’s exit ended Bailey success at Aston Villa
Sometimes partnerships are formed on the football pitch, which just benefit both players and help the team to grow and succeed.
That is exactly what happened with Bailey and Diaby, who reunited with each other after a spell alongside each other at Bayer Leverkusen.
- Diaby moved to Villa Park for over £50m
- He contributed to 19 goals in his debut year at Aston Villa
- The Frenchman then strangely left after just one season for Saudi Arabia
The duo flew in tandem down the right-hand side with the Frenchman playing in the second striker role in behind Ollie Watkins, who could strike a partnership with Evan Guessand.
This afforded the ex-Genk winger to thrive with more open space to work in, helping his goal involvements to skyrocket.
There is no getting away from the fact that this level of form completely dropped off this season, something which does directly link to Diaby’s move to Al Ittihad for a fee in the region of £50m.
It will now be interesting to see if he can find a move elsewhere, or if Villa look to get the best out of Bailey once more.
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