Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey has been one of the club’s most threatening assets this season in attack, with figures now revealing that the Jamaican is one of the best in Europe.
Aston Villa are enjoying an emphatic season under Unai Emery, with the Midlands club moving five points clear of Spurs in the race for fourth place on Saturday.
When the Spaniard took charge in October 2022, Villa were 15th in the Premier League table with little sense of direction, a feeling that the former Arsenal boss has abolished from Villa Park.
From tactical changes to introducing star names to the squad, the boss has transformed things at Villa, with a host of individuals in the team benefitting from Emery’s arrival.
One player who has thrived under the manager this season is Leon Bailey, whose career in Birmingham has been revitalised this campaign, as highlighted through his numbers.
The stats that place Leon Bailey as one of the best in Europe
Watching Bailey in action is all that’s needed to determine how much the Jamaican has improved this season.
The statistics reinforce just how good the winger has been over the past year, with FBref revealing that the 26-year-old places in the top 1% of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues when it comes to his rate of assists per 90.
Averaging 0.46 assists per 90, Bailey is one of Europe’s elite, with his ability to now contribute to goals the prominent factor to his rise in performance over the course of the season.
Prior to this term, the Jamaica international’s best goal-contribution tally for Villa in the Premier League was the four goals and four assists he secured last season.
How Unai Emery has got the best out of Leon Bailey
With eight goals and seven assists this season already, the confidence that Emery has provided Bailey with is admirable.
At the start of the campaign, the winger was out of favour with the boss, who demanded that the 26-year-old raise his level of performance in order to get things back on track in the squad.
While Bailey is responsible for his “supreme” form this season, as he was lauded by journalist Matt Maher, the forward himself credited his manager as being the reason for his boost in confidence.
Speaking after he penned a new deal earlier this month, the former Bayer Leverkusen whiz said:
“It’s always been good conversations and always trying to uplift my spirit and my confidence. And he’s [Emery] done that.”
As well as boosting his confidence, the manager’s set-up of his squad fit the environment that Bailey would like to play in.
Free-flowing, fast-paced football that allows the Jamaican to stay wide and encourage the opponent to be drawn away from the centre of the pitch has given the Villans an uncompromisable threat down the right side.
With his numbers rising game-by-game and his general performance levels providing exciting viewing, Villa are finally getting the best out of their winger thanks to Emery.
