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 Jamaica national team. Bailey arrived in Europe at the age of 13 and played for a number of clubs at youth level before being signed by Belgian side Genk in 2015, where he was named Belgian Young Footballer of the Year. His success in Belgium earned him a move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. After four years at the club, he was signed by Aston Villa in 2021 for a fee  of around £30 million. 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 could not offer him a contract. Bailey almost joined Standard Liège, but the transfer was not 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 Trenčín. Genk. Bailey joined K.R.C. Genk in 2015 from Trenčín. 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 2–2 defeat against Atlético Madrid. He made ten appearances for Leverkusen in his first half season  at the club. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2017, in the first game of the 2017–18 season in a 3–0 victory in the German Cup against Karlsruher SC. His first league goal for the club came on 29 September against Schalke 04. He finished the season scoring 12 goals in 34 games in all competitions, helping guide Bayer Leverkusen to a fifth place finish in the Bundesliga. On 30 November 2019, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over champions Bayern Munich, one goal with each foot. Aston Villa. On 4 August 2021, Bailey  signed for Premier League club Aston Villa. On 14 August 2021, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 3–2 loss to Watford. On 18 September 2021, he scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–0 home victory over Everton, in which he also took a corner that led to a Lucas Digne own goal. Personal life. Growing up in Jamaica, Bailey wanted to become a footballer or a sprinter - inspired by the success of Usain Bolt. Bailey was one of 23 children adopted by football coach Craig Butler, whose Phoenix Academy team Bailey played for  as a child. Butler worked cleaning toilets to save enough money to travel to Europe - where he hoped to find Bailey, and his biological son, Kyle a professional club. Since the age of 13, Bailey has lived in Europe. International career. Jamaica U23. Bailey played in a friendly match for Jamaica under-23s on 8 March 2015 versus the Cayman Islands under-23 side, where he scored directly from a free kick. Jamaica. In March 2017 it was reported that Bailey would refuse Jamaica call ups until the standards of Jamaican football improved. In September 2017, Bailey told German football magazine Kicker : "They always want me to play for Jamaica, but I've had personal problems with the association since I was eleven or twelve years old". In January 2018, Winfried Schäfer, the former Jamaica national team coach told a German newspaper Bild "I really wanted to make him a national player. I have invited him several times – among others to the Gold Cup in America and to international matches. I also called at Genk. But his step-father blocked everything." Bailey was thought to have accepted a call-up in October 2018, but reneged after demanding that his brother Kyle Butler , who currently plays for the reserves of FC Juniors OÖ in the Austrian 2. Liga, be called up too. In May 2019, Bailey was named to the Jamaican provisional squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Bailey officially announcing that he would accept the call-up and represent the Reggae Boyz. He would earn his first Jamaica international cap on 17 June 2019 against Honduras. Bailey scored his first goal for Jamaica on 6 September 2019 against Antigua and Barbuda, netting the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory in CONCACAF Nations League play. Bailey was thought to have been  eligible to represent England as he has two grandparents who have British citizenship. However, he is not eligible to play for England as none of his grandparents were born in England. Honours. Individual