Latest reports have claimed that Premier League champions Chelsea are preparing a deal to sign Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer. The Blues have already been rejected once, but are not willing to give up on their target. With their season being a rather underwhelming one so far, Chelsea is willing to make sure that they bring in the players they want for next season as soon as possible by agreeing on a fee in the off-season. The latest attempt to bring in Leverkusen star was rejected as the Bundesliga club was not ready to sell their valuable asset at a fee of just €30 million.
Bailey was on Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s radar this January transfer window, but it was another failed transfer, one that has occurred many times ever since Conte took over as Chelsea boss in the summer of 2016.The Jamaican born superstar has been showing his talents to the world after having a breakthrough season with Leverkusen this season.
Leverkusen swopped up Bailey from Genk in the summer transfer window for a fee of €20m with heavy competition from English Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea. But the 20-year-old starlet has already spoken about his dream to play in the Premier League earlier this season when he said, “Of course I have a dream club, but I will not tell. Basically, England was and still is my dream. And if I keep working hard, I’m sure it will work someday.”
This has kept the top-flight clubs in England on red alert as Chelsea are now seemingly front-runners to sign Bailey. His incredible performances have drawn a lot of attention from Conte, who was keen on bringing Bailey to Stamford Bridge in January. But Leverkusen wanted to play their cards right with the deep-pocketed club.
Bailey has already registered eight goals this season in 25 Bundesliga appearances since his arrival in 2017. And Leverkusen knows that he will only continue to get better as the season progresses, which would definitely increase his price in the market. And they were right in doing so.
Chelsea is now in the midst of preparing a bid of €50m to try again for Bailey and hoping that Leverkusen agrees with the new bid. Bailey can play in many different positions on the pitch but mainly operates as a winger. He can shift from the right side to left and is adept at playing through the centre as well. Being just 20, he is extremely fit and young which means he can run at defenders and get past them with his pace and skill on the ball.
His technique, however, looks the real deal, which is why Conte is so interested in signing Bailey. With Belgian forward Eden Hazard not signing a contract extension with the Londoner’s, his move to Real Madrid at the end of the summer looks increasingly likely. Therefore, Chelsea may need to act fast to recruit the young up and coming star to replace their talismanic winger.
Again, it will not be easy to sign Bailey as there will be plenty of interest from other rival Premier League clubs.
