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Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey is a man on a mission and is determined to cement his place in Steven Gerrard’s side following a frustrating time on the injury front.

Bailey arrived at Villa from Bayer Leverkusen in a £30million deal last summer. But so far the move has not gone to plan. The 24-year-old has been hampered by injury and now there is a question mark over his future.

Bailey was ruled out of nine games due a thigh injury but is now back to full fitness. The Jamaican’s last start came back in November before injury struck. But now he is fit he is having to settle for a place on the bench.

Bailey has come off the bench in four of Villa’s last six Premier League games, including the 2-1 defeat against West Ham.

The scores were level when Bailey replaced Danny Ings at the London Stadium and moments later West Ham went in front. He then gave the ball away to Declan Rice who set up Pablo Fornals for West Ham’s second goal. So it was not the best of introductions.

Aston Villa style does not suit

Bailey could struggle to fight his way into the Villa side as he is an out-and-out winger and Gerrard’s style does not suite him.

The Villa boss has tended to adopt a narrow, compact style. It means Bailey could find it difficult trying to shine over the remaining 10 games of the season.

However he is blessed with pace, something that is lacking in the Villa squad. And Bailey is reported to feature in Gerrard’s plans moving forward.

One thing is certain Bailey is fired up to show his worth. According to his step-dad and agent, Craig Butler, he is unhappy at being on the bench and is desperate to impress.

Speaking on his Football Unfiltered YouTube show Butler revealed just how riled Bailey got at being left on the bench.

Bailey is fired up

“Leon Bailey’s back in the football world, playing again and recovered from injury. His last game was very encouraging. He’s back in the saddle and raring to go,” he said.

“He doesn’t like the bench, never will like the bench because he’s the type of guy that always wants to play. He’s been on the bench a couple of times and it really got him riled so, the minute he got onto the pitch, he showed what he can do. I’m sure he’ll be featuring much more in the months to come.”

Bailey has also had hamstring and groin issues during his short time at the club. So staying fit is going to be his biggest issue moving forward.

The winger has made just four starts, scoring one goal and providing one assist. Gerrard will no doubt make changes to his squad in the summer and now Bailey has to prove he wants to be a part of it.

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