Leon Bailey already has blueprint from Aston Villa flop Evann Guessand to shine vs Wolves
Leon Bailey has been hugely frustrating since returning to Aston Villa in January.
The Villans brought the Jamaica international back from his loan at Roma, and there was hope he could hit the same heights as the 2023-24 season.
That hasn’t happened, and the 28-year-old has failed to grab a single goal or assist, while genuinely struggling to find his feet back in the Premier League.
There may not be many more opportunities for the winger to prove himself to Unai Emery, but the upcoming clash with Wolves could be the perfect chance.
Evann Guessand has already proven away from B6 that the Old Gold are there to be gotten at, and Bailey needs to do his best to follow suit.
Evann Guessand netted vs Wolves last time out
The Ivory Coast international departed Villa Park as Bailey came in after a shocking spell in the Midlands following his move from OGC Nice.
He wanted Palace, and Palace wanted him, so a move made total sense for all parties.
Things have gone well for the 24-year-old at Selhurst Park, as showcased by Sofascore, with a goal and assist in red and blue stripes already.
He came off the bench last time out against Wolves and found the net in the 90th minute to secure a last-gasp winner for the Eagles.
Guessand featured across 18 minutes, maintained an 88 per cent pass accuracy and made the most of his one shooting opportunity in SE25.
His goal came from him drifting in from the wing and finding space inside the box, something which Bailey could certainly learn from.
Leon Bailey must echo Guessand at Aston Villa
It says a lot about how poor the Jamaican has been that following in the footsteps of a Villa flop looks like an ideal route to take.
Bailey was hooked 16 minutes into the second half against Leeds, having racked up just 0.06 expected goals and 0.07 expected assists.
He also failed with four of his six attempted dribbles and three of his five attempted crosses.
That really doesn’t paint a good picture and needs to be changed when facing off against the bottom-placed side at Molineux.
If he doesn’t, there is every chance that his minutes could be increasingly limited in B6 across the rest of the campaign.
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