David Ornstein: AS Roma in talks to sign Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey

Reported by David Ornstein, Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey is looking for possiblities to join Serie A giant Roma.

Roma are in discussions with Aston Villa over a potential deal to sign winger Leon Bailey.

The 28-year-old signed a new contract in February 2024, which runs until 2027. He is one of multiple players available to leave the Midlands club, including Alex Moreno and Leander Dendoncker.

Clubs in Turkey — including Besiktas — and the Saudi Pro League are also keen on Bailey but Roma are emerging as the strongest suitor, after discussions took place over a Saudi move earlier in the window.

A bid has yet to be tabled but talks continue between Villa and their Italian counterparts.

If a move materialises, Bailey would become Roma’s seventh summer signing and their second from the Premier League, as Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson has joined on loan. Besiktas have signed six players in this window.

Bailey was used increasingly sparingly last season by head coach Unai Emery, appearing in 24 top-flight games and starting only 14. He began to struggle for form towards the end of the previous campaign, when he played through injury and illness and suffered a couple of knocks that disrupted his start to 2024-25.

“Every day I am speaking with him about it (his form),” Emery said at a press conference last year.

“He is accepting my challenge to get the best of him like last year. We need him. Leon is a very specific player for us as a winger, threatening in behind.”

The Jamaica international joined Villa in August 2021 for a fee in the region of £30million from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He has made 144 appearances for the club, recording 22 goals and 24 assists.

The winger helped Unai Emery’s side qualify for the Champions League in 2023-24 with a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Conference League.

Bailey had spells with Austrian lower-league sides Anif Jugend and Liefering and Slovak team AS Trencin before beginning his senior career with Belgian Pro League club Genk. He made 77 appearances for the team before moving to Leverkusen in January 2017.

(Clive Mason/Getty Images)