Leon Bailey

Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Jamaican national team.

Club Career

Early career

Bailey started his career playing for the Phoenix All-Star Academy operated by his adoptive father, Craig Butler. In 2011, Butler arrived in Europe to find a club for Bailey and Butler’s biological son, Kyle. Bailey caught the eye of K.R.C. Genk in Belgium, but because of the very strict regulations on minors by FIFA, they couldn't offer him a contract. Bailey almost joined Standard Liege, but the transfer wasn't approved because Butler had no work permit. In October 2013, Bailey reached a verbal agreement AFC Ajax, but a transfer did not materialize due to FIFA rules. Aged 13, Bailey signed for Austrian non-league side Anif Jugend, before moving to FC Liefering.

In the beginning of 2013, Bailey signed a professional contract with Slovakian side AS Trencin.

Genk

Bailey joined K.R.C. Genk in 2015 from Trencin. He made his Belgian Pro League debut on 21 August 2015 in a 3–1 away defeat against Sint-Truiden replacing Siebe Schrijvers after 62 minutes. He scored his first professional goal for KRC Genk on 21 November versus OH Leuven. At the end of the 2015–16 season he won the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award. His goal in the Europa League against Rapid Wien on 15 September 2016 was chosen as the top goal of the competition for the 2016–17 season by UEFA.

Bayer Leverkusen

Bailey joined Bayer Leverkusen in January 2017 for a fee of €20 million, after interest from Manchester United and Chelsea. He made his debut for Leverkusen on 3 February 2017, in a 1–0 defeat against Hamburg. His Champions League debut came on 24 February 2017, in a 2–4 defeat against Atletico Madrid. He made 10 appearances for Leverkusen in his first half season at the club.

He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2017, in

This page also has a version in other languages :  Леон Бейли (russian)