Jamaican Wonderkid Leon Bailey Doing BIG Things In The German Bundesliga
Jamaican football wonderkid Leon Bailey continues to do big things in Europe. The 20-year-old has already scored three goals in the German Bundesliga for his club Bayer Leverkusen.
He scored his third goal for the club in a 2-1 win against FC Köln on Saturday.
And a week earlier Bailey found the back of the net and provided an assist as his team recovered from a halftime deficit to outscore Borussia Moenchengladbach 5-1.
https://twitter.com/kanat_forvet/status/921814085263659008
The pacy winger also came off the bench to rescue a point for his club in a 1-1 draw against Schalke a few weeks ago. Within minutes of his introduction, Bailey cut inside and pulled the trigger from the edge of the box. His shot looped off the boot of centre back Matija Nastasic and floated into the back of the net leaving the Schalke shotstopper Fährmann virtually no chance.
And earlier this month, it was revealed that Bailey was one of three players who were monitored by representatives from FC Barcelona.
Media outlets revealed that Barcelona’s sporting director Robert Fernandez and Urbano Ortega, the club’s chief of scouting keenly watched Bailey, fellow winger Julian Brandt and defender Jonathan Tah during Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
The Kingston-born star who made 56 appearances over two seasons for top Belgium side Genk, was hounded by several Premier League teams last year but eventually opted to hone his skills in Germany.
Chelsea and Manchester United were among the teams keen on signing Bailey but they have a reputation of snapping up young talent only to ship them out on loan. Bailey garnered tremendous attention from clubs globally after he had picked up the 2015-16 Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award.
Expectations for Bailey were great following his arrival at Bayer Leverkusen in the 2016-2017 winter transfer window for an estimated fee of €20 million, but he was unable to get going last season. However, this campaign the tenacious winger has put on some fearless displays which have attracted even greater attention from Europe’s finest clubs.
Heiko Herrlich – Leverkusen’s manager has already offered high praises for Bailey saying:
“Leon is a weapon! He has unbelievable speed, a strong finish, and is incredibly difficult to defend. We are very satisfied with him.”
Speculation continues to mount over whether Bailey will represent Jamaica on the senior level. In 2015, he represented Jamaica at the U-23 level in a game versus the Cayman Islands where he scored directly from a freekick.
His inclusion to our current squad could certainly serve to bolster confidence and will undoubtedly see the Reggae Boyz garner more support globally as Bailey continues to do BIG things in Europe.
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