Chelsea are interested in securing the services of Bayer 04 Leverkusen youngster, Leon Bailey in January. According to recent reports, the Blues are ready to make a move and will launch a £20m bid for the highly-rated Bundesliga starlet next month. It is understood that scouts from the West London club have seen him in action on three separate occasions in this campaign and the Blues are monitoring his development for the past one and a half years.
The 20-year-old starlet is considered as one of the fastest players in the top five European leagues and has already caught the attention of La Liga giants, Barcelona. However, Chelsea are hoping to fend off competition in pursuit of the player by putting in a big-money offer when the transfer window commences next month. It is believed that the West Londoners are also willing to immediately loan the youngster back to Germany for the remainder of the season in their attempts to tip the scales in their favour.
Bailey is under contract at Bayer 04 Leverkusen until 2022 so the club will be least interested in parting ways with it’s prized asset next month. However, the possibility of retaining him on loan while also acquiring a significant fee might be enough to convince them to sell their winger.
The Blues of London have recently made a habit of acquiring top talents from all across Europe only to let them develop elsewhere on loan before eventually letting them go for a significant profit. Some sources are also suggesting that Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte has not been asked about his opinion on the player, and the target has actually been shortlisted by the club’s transfer committee.
Bailey could be in line to face a similar fate that has befallen the likes of Christian Atsu and Thorgan Hazard. Both players were signed at a young age and were subject to quite a number of loan deals before eventually being moved on by the club in search of greener pastures.
Leon Bailey has featured in 13 matches for the Bundesliga club this season and has scored 5 goals and made 4 assists so far. The 20-year-old is definitely someone who has bags of potential but its hard to see how he’ll get a game at Chelsea other than the odd appearance in one of the domestic cup competitions. A loan move back to Germany might suit the player more as he can develop his game before trying his luck in London next season.
It remains to be seen whether Leverkusen lets him go next month with the Blues keen on his signature.
