Scout Report – Leon Bailey
Arsenal are reportedly interested in a move for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey and could attempt to bring him to the Emirates stadium in January. The 20-year-old has been earning rave reviews for his performances in the Bundesliga, which in turn has attracted a lot of attention from top clubs. His displays have helped Leverkusen stay at 6th spot in the league standings and they are just one point behind 4th-placed RB Leipzig.
For a youngster to impact a team’s performance on a level like this is truly astounding and it will be interesting to see how his future plays out. That said, let’s take a look at Bailey’s profile.
History
Born in 1997 in Kingston, Jamaica, Bailey was a part of the Phoenix All-Star Academy which was owned by his step-father. As a youth player, he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually got selected to play for FC Liefering in 2011. After spending 2 years at the club, the youngster started to try and sign on for greater European clubs but after a lot of issues faced by him and his step-father due to him being under-age, the player joined Trencin in 2013.
It was only in 2015 that he joined Genk and from then on, his career truly got off to a flying start. He even won the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award and his performances attracted attention from Bayer Leverkusen, who swooped in and signed him 2016.
Playing Style
Bailey possesses a blistering amount of pace that is lethal for a winger when it comes to goal-scoring exploits. Despite being so young, he seems to have a calm and collected presence on the field and that confidence can take him a long way. He seems to be quite adept at wreaking havoc upon opposition defenders and is a direct player of the ball.
The Arsenal target has some mature intelligence in his game and is quite skilled at what he does. However, he does have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to his finishing. His versatility will undoubtedly come as an advantage to whichever team he plays for – he can operate on both flanks and has also dabbled with playing as a striker.
Bailey’s Future
If Arsenal manage to sign him, it will be a long-term investment for the future. If Alexis Sanchez were to leave the Gunners, having a player like Bailey as a replacement does seem like a step in the right direction. However, there is the concern of playing time. At Bayer Leverkusen right now, he is featuring as a regular but he may have to forego that once he moves to Arsenal. Hence, it will be an important decision for the youngster since this can either make or break his career.