In hindsight, Aston Villa’s 2021 summer transfer window looks a bit cracked and blurry: The men’s side spent over £90 million on Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendía, and Leon Bailey. That recruitment drive left obvious gaps in the midfield that meant no more than two of those players appeared in the same starting line-up. The side went on to underwhelm, finishing in 14th. While Ings and Buendía have played sufficient minutes in Steven Gerrard’s side to suggest they have a future in claret and blue, it is unclear if that future will be in Villa’s best eleven next year.
Bailey, however, was recruited for Dean Smith’s counter attacking style which heavily utilised wingers, something his pace and close ball control are well suited to. Gerrard’s preferred systems so far forego wingers for narrow 10s or two strikers. Likely exiting winger Anwar El Ghazi was quoted as saying, “The style of play introduced by new manager Steven Gerrard leaves no room for wingers like me.” Nevertheless, the club has invested heavily in the Jamaican, and Bailey’s explosive attacking talent is difficult to ignore. This begs the question, is there a way to use Bailey’s talents as an asset to this squad?
Anwar El Ghazi was quoted as saying “The style of play introduced by new manager Steven Gerrard leaves no room for wingers like me.”
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By: Dan Pritchard
Title: Can the introduction of five substitutes kickstart Leon Bailey’s Villa career?
Sourced From: 7500toholte.sbnation.com/2022/7/7/22999978/aston-villa-leon-bailey-five-substitutes
Published Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2022 08:00:00 +0000
