Leon Bailey: Villa’s man for the big moments

IN LIGHT of his fine vein of form this season for English Premier League club Aston Villa, Jamaican international Leon Bailey has received high praise from the award-winning sports journalist, Jacob Tanswell, in a recent episode of the Optus Sport Football Podcast.

Tanswell, a sports reporter who covers Aston Villa for renounced The Athletic publication, spoke on Bailey’s transformation in becoming one of Aston Villa’s key players so far this season.

According to Tanswell, Bailey’s rise in the Aston Villa hierarchy coincides with the appointment of veteran coach Unai Emery, who has placed his trust in the Jamaican forward.

In his first season in England, Bailey had fallen below expectations with a return of a single goal and one assist in 18 appearances across all competitions in a season riddled with injury.

Since then, Bailey has seen a massive improvement in output, now having scored nine goals and recording eight assists in 29 appearances for the Birmingham-based club, which includes a crucial game-winning goal against reigning world champions Manchester City.

“He always had belief in himself but I think the coaches give him belief. I think it was pretty obvious that Steven Gerrard didn’t have that where Emery knows that he is very good and they’ve been working on his consistency away from home and I think that now he’s probably Villa’s most threatening attacker. He is the man for the big moments at the moment.”

Tanswell credited Bailey’s character as one of the reasons behind his recent success, explaining that the Jamaican has, throughout his childhood and journey as a professional athlete, become a figure sculpted by adversity and has developed an attitude of perseverance.

SLOW BURNER

“He was exposed to gangs and violence up until the age of eight, he saw a lot of bad things as he came from a tough neighbourhood,” he said. “There were so many things he had to overcome. Now he can speak five or six different languages, so yeah, I think, having that type of adversity stood him in good stead at Villa because he was a slow burner early on but now he has that belief.”

Aston Villa are currently third in the Premier League, and while Tanswell said he does not believe Aston Villa are title contenders for this season, he believes the team has the quality to earn a qualifying spot the UEFA Champions League, with Bailey playing a key role.

“I don’t think they are genuine title contenders but the question is, will top five get them into the Champions League and you’re looking there. But I do feel if one of the bigger teams do drop off, yeah, I’m pretty confident they can get top four come May.”

- Gregory Bryce