Leon Bailey On his Way Out of Aston Villa

Leon Bailey is set to join Roma on a season-long loan from Aston Villa. The deal includes a €2 million (£1.7 m) loan fee and a €22 million (£18.9 m) option to buy. Villa have been wanting to move the Jamaican on after his poor performances last season, but didn't have any suitable permanent offers this summer. Crucially for Villa it's another player on wages over £100,000 per week off their books.

🚨🟡🔴 Leon Bailey to AS Roma, here we go! Verbal agreement with Aston Villa for €2/3m loan fee plus €22m buy option clause.

Bailey only wanted Roma as priority as reported last week, deal now agreed in principle.

Medical authorization expected next. 🇯🇲 pic.twitter.com/fZO3my7xMa

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 18, 2025

The 28-year-old was signed in the 21/22 January transfer window from German side Bayer Leverkusen for £30 million. At times he showed his promise, but throughout the majority of his Villa career his performances lacked.

He made 144 appearances in all competitions, scoring 22 goals and registering 24 assists. His best season was the 23/24 campaign, where supporters were hopeful this was the beginning of an exciting few years at Villa for Bailey. In 52 games across all competitions he scored 14 goals and recorded 13 assists. Bailey was hugely impactful for Villa establishing himself as a crucial player.

Last year was the complete opposite for Bailey. Performances dwindled and he lost confidence, scoring only 2 goals in all competitions. When Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio joined on loan in January, Bailey began to fall down the pecking order and he soon lost his place completely. It makes a lot of sense for Villa to secure him an exit as his value would only continue to decrease at 28-years-old.