Aston Villa writer Gregg Evans has claimed the ‘key’ to getting the best out of summer signing Leon Bailey is to keep him fit with a ‘regular run of games’.
Bailey has made an impressive start to his career with the Villans so far, registering one goal and one assist in just 85 Premier League minutes.
In particular, he caught the eye over the weekend against Everton as the Jamaican scored and set up another in a brief 20-minute cameo where he came off the bench, only to get injured and substituted off again.
And fitness has been the main issue for Bailey so far in England. The 24-year-old has had such limited playing time due to a hamstring injury.
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While talking on the 1874 podcast, Evans claimed that the player will be ‘really important’, so long as they can keep him fit.
He explained: “I think he’s going to be a really important player for Villa. The key is just to keep him fit.
“Get him a regular run of games, because we haven’t even seen him start a game yet. And, you know, that could be really exciting.”
TIF thoughts on Leon Bailey and Aston Villa…
When the Villans received £100m for Jack Grealish from Manchester City this summer, the club’s fans would have likely been very interested in seeing how that money was reinvested in the squad.
Beyond the likes of Danny Ings and Emi Buendia, Bailey was another key man brought in to lessen the impact of their former captain’s departure.
Having cost £25m, it looks as though the player is more than capable of living up to his price tag at this stage. And, as Evans suggests, if they can keep him fit, Villa could indeed have a ‘really exciting’ player on their hands.
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