Leon Bailey’s £35m price-tag gives Everton a chance to rectify mistake

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Everton missed out on Leon Bailey last year when he joined Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for £12.8million.

After a thrilling start to his first full Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen’s squad manager Jonas Boldt predicted that Leon Bailey would soon emulate former Dortmund whizz-kid Ousmane Dembele and command a transfer fee in excess of 100 million euros.

But according to the Mirror, anyone interested in this exciting Jamaican speedster could tempt Leverkusen to sell for a great deal cheaper this summer.

It is understood that the former Genk winger has a contract at the Bay Arena until 2022, but the 2002 Champions League finalists would struggle to turn down bids of around £35 million for a player who is probably their prized asset, ahead of both Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz.

Everton, then, should seize any chance they have to sign Bailey this summer after missing out in January 2017.

The Mail claimed that the Toffees were keen to sign the rapid winger 13 months ago, before he joined Leverkusen instead for a bargain £12.8 million. Since then, Bailey has blossomed into one of Europe’s most exciting wide men, scoring nine goals and setting up six more in the Bundesliga while terrorising opposition back lines with his pace, unpredictability and eye for the spectacular.

Despite signing Theo Walcott in January and Yannick Bolasie’s return from injury, Everton could still do with a bit more pace and directness in attack, and Bailey would provide that in abundance, while arguably representing a more creative threat than either the former Arsenal or Crystal Palace men.

Everton would have to pay £20 million more than Bailey was worth last year, but £35 million would still represent a snip for a player this promising in today’s market.