Aston Villa

Aston Villa

Premier League • England

Gerrard formation change leaves £28m Aston Villa man seriously considering his future

Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa

Leon Bailey could reportedly be considering his future at Aston Villa due due to Steven Gerrard’s recent decision to change his formation.

The 24-year-old Jamaica star has had a frustrating first season in English football after joining Villa in a £28.8million deal from Bayern Leverkusen last summer, although he has been hit by a series of injury problems.

Bailey missed nine games between December and February with a thigh issue. He has been available for the last five outings though.

However, Gerrard has switched to a narrow 4-4-2 formation that sees Philippe Coutinho playing as a No.10 behind Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings.

That leaves no room for any out and out wingers, leaving Bailey to feature from the bench.

The pacy attacker has only been at Villa Park for seven months but transfer insider Dean Jones believes the player will already be thinking about moving on.

Aston Villa interested in Kalvin Phillips if Leeds go down

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He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think it leaves Leon Bailey looking for a transfer, to be honest.”


Bailey struggling for game time

Bailey was the club’s third most expensive ever when he joined last summer. However, he has made just four league starts all season.

The report adds that if he fails to figure more regularly between now and the end of the current campaign he is likely to consider his options.

Bailey’s only hope of playing more is Gerrard’s willingness to play different formations depending on who Villa are facing.

That could leave the door open for a few more starts and chances to impress.

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