Leon Bailey has revealed that he faced difficulties during his early days at Aston Villa. However, his fortunes changed when head coach Unai Emery gave him an honest pep talk at the beginning of the current season. Bailey is now performing at the pinnacle of his career and was recently awarded a new contract that runs until 2027, with an option for an additional year. He has been a key contributor, with 19 goals and assists combined in 34 appearances across all competitions this season. The winger signed for Villa in 2021 and has since scored 16 goals in 87 appearances wearing claret and blue.”Aston Villa is a big club and for me, we have a lot of goals we want to achieve together. Birmingham reminds me a little bit of home. There’s a lot of Jamaicans here. Sometimes people say I sound like a little Brummie!”Unai Emery on Leon Bailey 🗣️“When I arrived here, I tried to set him as a second striker and take the best characteristics he can add in my idea to play and he was still adapting as well when I arrived here. The adaptation is everything.” ✅ #avfc pic.twitter.com/sAAYKPLl8m— Total Villa (@Total_Villa) February 18, 2024 Bailey’s first full season at Villa Park was really bad, but the second one saw the 26-year-old winger getting into the team and trying to get things going.”This year has been way different, and this is what I would expect from myself. I always knew what I was capable of and what my abilities were. Emery has improved every single player in this club, not just the players but the staff. Everything around this football club has improved. At the beginning of the season, we did have a discussion, and he said to me, ‘Listen, Leon, I know you have a lot more to give, and I can see you’re playing well at home, and then sometimes when we are away, you’re not giving the performance that you’re given at home’.”Those words from the former Villarreal and Paris Saint-Germain tactician gave Bailey a boost and made him focus on the tasks ahead.”I have to be a professional and a mature person to understand when somebody is actually trying to help you and when somebody is actually trying to be harsh towards you. It’s always been good conversations and always trying to uplift my spirit and my confidence. And he’s done that.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7881131##Bailey has played for three clubs since leaving Jamaica as a teenager: Genk in Belgium, Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, and now Aston Villa. The road to where he is today was long and winding.”Jamaica made me humble, understanding that you came from nothing. Jamaica is a place where I’ve seen a lot of poverty in my life, which made me understand that this life is not easy, and sometimes, a little kid needs a little push and a little help from somebody to say you can do it. Leaving Jamaica and going to Europe was a drastic change because the climate and being at Genk was one of my life’s most special moments.”Making the difficult transition to Europe is where the talented kid really started learning what it takes to become a real professional. “I moved to Leverkusen, and I really enjoyed my time there and playing in the Bundesliga, obviously playing against big teams, big players, that was the first competition where I played against giants, you know, Arjen Robben, all those big names and Franck Ribery. I had some very, very special moments there.”Leon Bailey Links Up With Usain Bolt In Jamaica https://t.co/PFXTakiHUx pic.twitter.com/jiDTNo4hY9— The Jamaican Blogs (@JABlogz) December 30, 2017 One of Jamaica’s greatest sporting exports, Usain Bolt, is also a close friend of Bailey and the Villa star is inspired by his career in athletics.”He is a role model. He’s a role model for me, and he’s also my very, very close friend. I was into athletics as well, but that wasn’t for me. But it’s great to have somebody like that who genuinely looks out for you and wants to see you do great. He’s also somebody I learned a lot of humility from because he’s one of the humblest people I ever met.”
