Leon Bailey return set to spell bad news for Aston Villa teammate

Aston Villa have recalled Leon Bailey from his loan spell at Roma.

Bailey left Villa Park for Roma in August, but he has already returned to England after less than five months abroad.

The Jamaican winger made 11 appearances for Roma across that time, with seven of those coming in Serie A.

It was reported that Roma would pay Villa £19million for Bailey at the conclusion of his season-long loan move.

Although the 28-year-old is now back in B6 to help Unai Emery’s side, his return could harm the progress of one January signing.

Leon Bailey's Aston Villa career stats
Credit: Imago/Sofascore

Alysson will hardly feature for Aston Villa given Leon Bailey’s involvement

Alysson joined Villa for an initial £8.7m from Brazilian side Gremio, with the potential for a further £1.75m in add-ons in the future.

The right winger was Aston Villa‘s first signing of the winter transfer window, and he possesses a great amount of pace and potential.

At just 19 years of age, he will become the fifth Brazilian player to make his debut when that opportunity arises.

However, with Bailey now back in the squad, Alysson may have to wait a long time for that to happen.

StatAlysson
Appearances42
Goals2
Assists3
Alysson’s stats at Gremio

Emery has an abundance of talented players to choose from; however, a loan spell could be beneficial for the 19-year-old if he wants to maximise his development.

The worst-case scenario is that he is stuck at youth level, and the Villans must send him out to play for a team in the EFL.

This is what Bailey quickly needs to do upon Villa Park return

Bailey only started two of his 11 games for Roma, failing to score a goal and registering just two assists in total.

Bailey only made his debut under Gian Piero Gasperini in October after suffering a back injury at the start of the season.

The 28-year-old hasn’t fit into Emery’s system at Villa Park, and fans had grown frustrated at his lack of consistency.

Credit: Breaking Media/Imago

With Donyell Malen leaving Villa to join Roma, Bailey needs to be a goal threat, whether that be on the right wing or when deputising for Ollie Watkins up front.

The Jamaica international is clearly out of form, but he has had several memorable moments in B6.

Whether he can get back to his best is anyone’s guess, but he has to do so quickly.

Otherwise, the development of Alysson will have stalled for no reason.

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