European top sides eye Leon Bailey

Berlin : The 20-year-old Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen has scored six and made four assists halfway into the new Bundesliga season, attracting several European top clubs from England and Spain to zoom in the Jamaican striker.

This Wednesday it was Bailey who secured the next round of the German Cup scoring the winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach. And he has become a vital part of the headlines dating through the first rounds of German league actions.

Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich called him “a weapon” with “brutal qualities”, after the club paid 13.5 million euro in January 2017 to Belgian side of KRC Genk and provided Bailey with a contract until 2022.

“We are aware Leon is causing interest among other clubs, but we don’t intend to think about a possible departure,” said Leverkusen managing director Rudi Voeller.

Every 97 minutes, Bailey is involved in a goal, making him the most valuable Bundesliga performer next to Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

In comparison to other European top leagues, only Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappe stands above Bailey when it comes to the number of direct participation in goal situations.

With Bailey’s help, Leverkusen even finished the first half of the league season in fourth as one of the season’s surprises.

Bailey is not only exceptional in forwarding game, but also intensively involved in the defence efforts, as former striker Voeller said “it is unusual that a striker like him is far from egoistic but always cares about the team’s needs.”

And yet Bailey said that “I have to continue to work hard and learn from my mistakes to gain further improvement” as he regards himself to be on the right track but is still a young professional with challenges ahead.

Teammates praise Bailey for his deadly pass. “As soon as I see he has got the ball I start to run because I know no matter where I go, he manages to find me. It is a lot of fun to have him around,” said striker Lucas Alario.

It might be a coincidence, when Bailey calls his fellow countryman and 100-meter Olympic champion Usain Bolt a close friend.

At the age of 13, Bailey started his footballer career in Europe. In 2015, he signed with Genk and became one of the team’s key members when participating in the Euro League.

Nowadays, the Kingston-born Bailey is even thinking about which national team to represent after he rejected an offer of the Jamaican association due to travel efforts. Rumours said that Belgium is in his mind, next to Germany.

But a national team does not yet seem to be his top topic. “First of all, we have to continue our way in Leverkusen and secure our current success. But right now it is time to recover and take a vacation and then prepare for the second half of the season,” Bailey said.

“It is my fifth winter in Europe right now. I think I need some sun,” the striker was quoted before traveling to Jamaica to meet family, friends and Bolt.