Jamaican Leon Bailey Monitored By Barcelona
Jamaican winger is a wanted man
Leon Bailey, the whizzy winger with German outfit Bayer Leverkusen, has been followed closely by Spanish giants Barcelona.
The 20-year-old was one of a trio of players that were watched on Sunday by Barcelona’s representatives.
Barcelona’s sporting director Robert Fernandez and Urbano Ortega, the club’s chief of scouting, were running their eye over Bailey, fellow winger Julian Brandt and defender Jonathan Tah during Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 stalemate against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Kingston-born Bailey, who made 56 appearances over two seasons for top Belgium side Genk, was wanted by a handful of Premier League teams last year but instead was advised by his father/manager Craig Butler to hone his skills in Germany.
Chelsea and Manchester United, two sides who tend to snap up young talent then ship them out on loan, were biting at the bit to sign Bailey after he had picked up the 2015-16 Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award.
With great expectations at Bayer Leverkusen after arriving as a tenacious teenager in the January transfer window, Bailey failed to get going last season. However, this campaign has been different and his fearless displays have attracted the attention of Europe’s major clubs.
Bailey, who considers the legendary athlete Usain Bolt amongst his friends, cost the Bundesliga side €20m. Unquestionably his value is going up rapidly, thanks to his natural ability and confidence on the pitch.
Confidence is something that Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz could do with right now following their recent thumping 5-2 reversal at the hands of hosts Saudi Arabia, albeit in a friendly.
But Bailey has yet to be called up to win a senior cap for the Boyz, although has represented Jamaica at U23 level. His outstanding performances in the Bundesliga have not gone unnoticed by the Jamaica Football Federation, it is just that the Boyz remain – seemingly permanently – in a transition stage.
In the meantime Bailey is a shooting star who is destined for bigger and better things on the world stage while the Boyz will be Boyz.
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