Leon Bailey Leaving Villa is the “Objective”
Unai Emery has confirmed Aston Villa still expect Leon Bailey to leave before the transfer window closes, even though the omnipresent issue of his wages remains a hurdle in all negotiations. Villa’s move for Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG only adds to that pressure, with the winger’s arrival meaning Bailey will be surplus to requirements this season.
“We were expecting him to leave,” Emery said at his press conference ahead of the Arsenal game. “When we left for Asia, he was close to leaving, but he is still with us now. Hopefully he can get a good opportunity to leave and join another club and continue his career, and this is our objective.”
The Twin Hope of Sevilla and Al Diriyah
The two names being linked to Bailey at the moment are Sevilla and Al Diriyah. Transfer journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported that Sevilla and Villa have opened talks over a loan move, with a formula supposedly on the table that would see Bailey extend his Villa contract by a season before going straight back out on loan. Al Diriyah, the Saudi club, are also said to be interested, though a link of this kind has fallen through before: a previously proposed move to fellow Saudi outfit Neom SC never materialised.
Fabrizio Romano has also named Al Diriyah and Sevilla, but added Hull City to the mix.
Hull City Red Herring?
Romano’s mention of Hull City looks like a lazy inclusion though. Bailey was in protracted talks with Hull earlier in the window, with his wages, reported in the region of £120,000 a week, cited as the major obstacle, much as they would have been earlier this month when he was allegedly linked with Ajax, a move that always looked unlikely given the same wage problem.
Since then, Hull have moved on.
They have since signed winger Mohamed-Ali Cho from Nice for £11m, primarily to play on the right, though manager Sergej Jakirović has made clear he offers more than that.
“He’s versatile, he can play, of course, right winger,” Jakirović told Hull Live. “But also he played number 10, as a striker, left winger, so he gives us a lot of options.”
Hull have also agreed a deal to sign Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt, a player who operates primarily on the left wing. Between the two, it is very doubtful Hull still need another winger, let alone one on high wages.
That leaves Sevilla and Al Diriyah as the two deals actually worth watching. Villa signed Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen and, at 28 with a year left on his contract, are in a position where keeping him past this window without extending his deal risks losing him for nothing next summer.
From the player who managed to score 10 league goals and provide nine assists in the 2023/24 season, it’s now very much a case of financial damage limitation, as Villa look, at the very least, to get his wages off the books and a token fee.
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