The Jamaican winger has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, but it seems he won’t be allowed to go in the winter window
Bayer Leverkusen have insisted that winger Leon Bailey will not be leaving the club during the January transfer window.
The Jamaican has long been linked with a move to the Premier League ever since his emergence at Belgian side Genk in 2015, with Goal reporting in May that Manchester City were weighing up a move .
Bailey himself has previously revealed that Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have also been tracking his progress , and that he turned down a move to England in favour of Leverkusen.
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The 21-year-old has insisted he had no regrets about that decision , saying it was the right choice at that stage of his career.
And the move to Germany certainly seems to have paid off, with Bailey having continued to flourish in the Bundesliga, where he scored nine goals last season.
Indeed, despite strong interest from the Premier League, Bailey signed a new contract at Leverkusen in August keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023.
And Leverkusen are adamant that, while they accept he will leave one day, it won’t be in the January window.
“We all know that Leon will eventually go, but we have made it clear that a winter change is out of the question, and he also knows that he has our backing,” sporting director Jonas Boldt told Bild .
Leverkusen are currently down in 13th place in the Bundesliga table and were hammered 4-1 at home by Hoffenheim in their last league match.
Bailey has only scored once in the 2018-19 campaign thus far although has only made five appearances from the start.
It remains to be seen if Pep Guardiola’s City will return and try to sign Bailey in the future, with the Premier League champions already possessing an array of attacking options consisting of the likes of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus.