Chelsea have made contact with Bayer Leverkusen over the possible signing of Leon Bailey, his agent has revealed.
Bailey was linked with a number of Premier League clubs in January 2017, but chose to move from Genk in Belgium to the Bundesliga.
He interested Chelsea again prior to the start of the 2017/18 season, but opted to remain with Leverkusen, where he performed excellently throughout the campaign.
This season the 21-year-old has found first-team chances limited, however, starting only eight of his 16 appearances.
Bailey’s lack of game time came under Heiko Herrlich, who was sacked as Leverkusen manager last month and replaced by Peter Bosz.
“I am very happy that this change has come about,” Craig Butler, Bailey’s agent and stepfather, told SportBild. “Leon did not develop under Heiko Herrlich,
“For Leon it is very important that he enjoys football, he lives alone in Germany, the family is in Jamaica, and if Leon does not have fun, it kills him.
“Top clubs have come forward, Real and Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Roma, and in recent months they have been surprised that Leon plays so seldom, wondering why a top league player like him is suddenly sitting on the bench.”
Chelsea have already bought from Germany once this month, signing Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth around £57.6million (€64million).
The United States international, a winger like Bailey, has returned to his former club on a loan deal until the end of the season, before he links up with Maurizio Sarri’s squad in the summer.