Leon Bailey appeared ready to leave Villa Park months ago, and he is undoubtedly now undroppable for Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

Leon Bailey appeared ready to leave Villa Park months ago, and he is undoubtedly now undroppable for Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

Leon Bailey appeared ready to leave Villa Park months ago, and he is undoubtedly now undroppable for Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

Bailey joined the Midlands from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021, and the following season

he established himself as a consistent starter.

The Jamaican international was given 26 starts in the previous campaign,

but his erratic play did not win over many Aston Villa supporters or Emery. As a result,

his future was called into question after Moussa Diaby was added in the summer.

On July 31, Football Insider revealed that Bailey’s departure would help Emery in his attempt

to spend heavily on another attacking addition, therefore the club’s owners, NWSE, were open to hearing bids for Bailey.

It was said that Aston Villa saw the attacker as a player they could let go of before the

conclusion of the summer window because the Spanish coach no longer saw him as a

“regular starter” and was looking to “raise cash” to support another forward recruitment.

Bailey could have been forgiven for viewing his former Leverkusen teammate’s arrival as an

opportunity to revive his Villa Park career, even though Diaby’s presence undoubtedly had a significant impact on him.

Three months later, the quick-witted Jamaican striker has undoubtedly taken

Emery’s choice to purchase his old Leverkusen teammate personally.

Bailey is only one assist away from matching his total from the previous season—four goals

and four assists—having so far this season in the Premier League with three goals and four assists [Transfermarkt].

He has two goals and four assists (SofaScore) in Villa’s previous eight games across all competitions,

with several of those came from the bench.

Although cameos are a small sample size for analyzing a player’s impact and growth within a squad,

Bailey’s have been remarkably constant.

Bailey may not have had a goal in their 2-1 victory over Tottenham on November 26,

but he surely caused problems for their defense. According to Sofascore, he finished three

of his four dribbling attempts and had one shot on target and two blocked.

The attacker in North London was unfortunate not to find the back of the net as his

effort struck the woodwork, but he made another impression with the ball elsewhere,

registering one crucial pass and making his lone long ball attempt (100%) successful.

On Thursday, November 30, it was the same tale against Legia Warsaw. Bailey,

who played the last 19 minutes, thrilled the Villa supporters with a few flicks and tricks, including one time when he turned his opponent inside out.

Despite playing less minutes than any other player, Bailey completed two of his three

dribbles (66.67%), according to Sofascore.

As evidenced by the advanced carries metric, Bailey’s directness is likely what this Villa team needs most from him.

Bailey is ranked in the 98th percentile of all forwards in the top five leagues in Europe over the last 12 months [FBref].

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