Chelsea have revived their interest in Aston Villa’s Jamaican international winger Leon Bailey, according to Daily Mail.
The club is bracing itself for the departure of Christian Pulisic this summer and is looking at the former Bayer Leverkusen man to replace him.
Pulisic will have a year left on his contract when summer comes around, and he wants regular playing time. Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have used Pulisic as a bench player. The USA international will have a lot of interest in him with his club and contract situation.
Chelsea are weighing up a move for Bailey, a close friend of Raheem Sterling. The London club has had an eye on him since he emerged at Genk years ago.
Chelsea seriously considered signing Bailey in January 2017 before he joined Leverkusen that winter window. The Blues scouted him extensively and pondered a move. Chelsea kept a keen eye on the Belgian market after bringing Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne from the European nation.
Even after he joined Leverkusen, there were persistent rumours about Chelsea scouting and monitoring the then-youngster to replace Willian and Pedro Rodriguez. However, the German club took the risk, signing him for €20 million.
After struggling to adapt in his first half-season at the club, Bailey exploded in his first complete season.
In the 17/18 season, he scored 12 goals and assisted six more in 34 appearances for Die Werkself. He followed it with two disappointing seasons before a brilliant 2020/21 campaign.
Bailey would score 15 goals and 11 assists in 40 games, prompting Aston Villa to sign him for £30 million. But injuries would derail his debut Premier League campaign as he made only 18 appearances and scored one goal.
The 25-year-old is back to his best this season, with four goals and two assists in 16 games this season.
Chelsea have missed a 1v1 specialist with end-product like Bailey in their team. It is no surprise to see them chasing him.
Bailey can operate on the left and right seamlessly. He makes dangerous runs with the ball and off the ball.
While Bailey recently reaffirmed his desire to continue with Villa, claiming that his chapter was only starting, interest from the Blues could turn his head.
The allure of UEFA Champions League football is irresistible, and it will also help that he will be playing in attack with a close friend. There are also rumours he is a closet Chelsea fan after pictures of the player in a Chelsea jersey.
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