Ajax want Leon Bailey with Aston Villa potentially facing interest in the winger ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Ajax have lost star winger Antony with the Brazilian heading to join up with his former boss Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
The Amsterdam giants will have been reluctant to lose Antony so close to the deadline, but United have given them a staggering £85million deal.
A replacement is now needed for Antony and Ajax are looking at a number of potential additions – including Villa man Bailey.
Ajax want Leon Bailey
The Daily Mail claim that Ajax are considering a move to sign Bailey as Antony’s replacement.
Bailey, was seen as a huge coup for Aston Villa when they signed him from Bayer Leverkusen for £30million last summer.
Yet injuries and inconsistency have seen Bailey struggle to nail down a spot in Steven Gerrard’s starting XI at Villa Park.
This isn’t the first time that Ajax have shown a major interest in signing Bailey.
Back in 2013, Bailey verbally agreed a deal to join the Ajax ranks and boss Frank de Boer hailed him as ‘exceptional’ having put him through his paces in Amsterdam.
The Jamaican ended up heaving to Slovakia with AS Trencin instead, but Bailey has been highly-regarded at Ajax for some time now.
A right-sided winger with great pace and and a dangerous left foot, you can certainly see why Ajax fancy Bailey as Antony’s successor.
Bailey has only started two Premier League games this season and Villa may well be tempted to sell if they can recoup their cash.
It doesn’t seem that Bailey is Ajax’s top choice though; Fabrizio Romano reports that a €20million (£17million) deal for Sevilla winger Lucas Ocampos has now been agreed.
A medical is imminent for the Argentinian but if anything goes wrong there, Villa may just receive a call or two from Ajax ahead of the deadline.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
