Leon Bailey celebrates after scoring a goal (Getty Images)
According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have added Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey to their shortlist of potential targets heading into the January transfer window, with manager Frank Lampard seemingly keen to bolster his squad.
Lampard has been handed a staggering £150 million kitty by owner Roman Abramovich ahead of the mid-season trading period, following Chelsea’s successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport with regards to overturning their two-window transfer ban (h/t Daily Mail).
Timo Werner, Moussa Dembele, Jadon Sancho and Samuel Chukwueze are other names on Chelsea’s shortlist as Lampard looks to bring in some fresh faces in January to add impetus to the club’s campaign in the Premier League. (h/t Daily Mail)
This is not the first time that Bailey has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. Back in June, during the summer transfer window, a report from The Mail (h/t Sun) claimed that the Blues had identified the Jamaican international as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard, who departed for Real Madrid earlier in the year.
The 22-year-old, who is one of the best young wingers in the German Bundesliga, has been on Chelsea’s radar for quite some time now, and if the recent transfer development is anything to go by, the Blues are running the rule over the Jamaican star once again.
Lampard is presumably keen to add more firepower to his attack during the mid-season window, as evident from Chelsea’s star-studded shortlist of potential targets in January that also features the likes of Sancho and Wilfried Zaha.
Indeed, that makes perfect sense, with the long-serving wide attacking duo of Willian and Pedro both on the other side of 30 and out of contract at Stamford Bridge in 2020.
Chelsea have had to wait more than six months to find a replacement for Hazard. While Christian Pulisic has undoubtedly made a positive impact under Lampard so far this season, it is not difficult to see why the Blues are in the market for a goalscoring winger in January.
Callum Hudson-Odoi remains a fine young talent with potential but Lampard will eventually need to find a way to reshape the squad in the near future.
To put things into perspective, rumours linking Leon Bailey with a move to Chelsea aren’t all that new to the fans at Stamford Bridge and January might be the right time for the Blues to make a move for the highly-rated winger.
The 22-year-old, who bagged 15 goals and 17 assists in 77 appearances for Belgian giants Genk earlier in his career, has established himself as a force to reckon with at Bayer Leverkusen since his move to Germany back in January 2017.
Bailey ensured a mediocre campaign last time around and didn’t look like the same player who plundered 9 goals and 6 assists in the Bundesliga during the 2017-18 season. However, the impressive winger has turned the table this term and currently boasts of a tally of 4 goals and 1 assist in 12 appearances for Leverkusen in all competitions so far.
The Jamaican grabbed the headlines with a brace to propel Leverkusen to a 2-1 victory over reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich last month, thus illustrating his ability to deliver the goods against top-quality opposition.
As per whoscored, Bailey boasts of a pass success rate of 75.1%, including 1.4 key passes, 1.1 crosses and 2.1 dribbles per game in the Bundesliga this term, figures which lie testimony to his creativity, ability to take on defenders, as well as an obvious proficiency in creating chances with his crossing.
Those attributes, coupled with his set-piece prowess and the ability to cut inside from the flanks, as listed by whoscored, should make him a tailor-made fit for Lampard’s attacking philosophy at Stamford Bridge.
Plus, Bailey still has plenty of room for development at the age of 22 and he is only going to get better with time as his career wears on.
Chelsea completing a move for the Jamaican in January would allow him considerable time to settle down in his new surroundings, unless, of course, the Blues choose to cash in on the out-of-contract duo of Willian and Pedro.
Suffice to say, Leon Bailey to Chelsea in January looks like a match made in heaven.