Leon Bailey has barely featured for Bayer Leverkusen – but would things be any different had he chosen Everton or Hull City?
Despite wide ranging interest from the Premier League, it appeared that Leon Bailey had made a good call when deciding to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in January for £12.8 million, the Daily Mail reported.
The 19-year-old, who made his name with a string of stand-out Europa League performances with Genk, had just put pen to paper with a club renowned for giving young players a platform to perform. After all, he would now be sharing a dressing room with fellow rising stars Hakan Calhanoglu, Julian Brandt, Wendell, Benjamin Henrichs and 17-year-old wonderkid Kai Havertz.
However, over two months after arriving at the Bay Arena, it’s fair to say Bailey has not made the expected impact. So far, the jet-heeled Jamaican has made just two Bundesliga appearances, totalling 27 minutes. He’s been on the losing side on both occasions, coming on in 1-0 defeats to Hamburg and Hoffenheim.
Furthermore, Bailey has been granted another 15 minutes in the Champions League while his progress has undoubtedly been stunted by the sacking of manager Roger Scmidt just six weeks after his arrival.
While it will take time for Bailey to adapt to a new league, a lack of opportunities will undoubtedly be a cause for concern. Especially after snubbing interest from England.
The Daily Mail reported that Everton, who have made talented young players a priority under Ronald Koeman, were interested in January. With speed, trickery and an impressive end product (Bailey completed more dribbles than any other player in the Europa League group stages), he appeared an ideal replacement for Gerard Deulofeu.
And, according to The Sun, Hull City were also interested in completing a major transfer coup considering their precarious position in the relegation battle. Manager Marco Silva has already shown a penchant for improving the talents at his disposal and Bailey, like Oumar Niasse and Kamil Grosicki, could have played a major part in The Tigers’ fight for survival.
As it is, however, he will have to make do with warming the bench for the remainder of the season.
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