Aston Villa players have reacted to the news of Leon Bailey extending his stay at Villa Park, with a host of his teammates taking to social media to congratulate the winger.
Aston Villa announced yesterday that Leon Bailey had put pen to paper to refresh his contract at the club, becoming another key player in Unai Emery’s squad to commit his future to the Spaniard’s project.
The news of the Jamaican’s new deal didn’t come as too much of a surprise to most, with news emerging earlier this month relaying that the winger had verbally agreed to sign on.
Still, the confirmation is something that has been highly celebrated by all associated with Villa, as Bailey continues to show his full potential this season after a slow start to life in England.
Leon Bailey has earned his new Aston Villa contract
After having his first season at the club plagued by injury, the former Bayer Leverkusen star only managed to contribute one goal in the 2021/22 campaign, followed by contributing to a total of nine goals last term – five goals and four assists.
The 26-year-old has certainly earned his new contract at Villa Park, having already contributed to 19 goals in all competitions this campaign, scoring ten and assisting nine to eclipse his past form.
Before the contract extension became official, Emery praised the winger for his ability to turn his form around at the club, a decision that led to his new deal being offered.
“I explained it to him. ‘No Leon, I want more. We need more of you. You have to be consistent and focus more than you are doing because it is not enough’. His commitment has improved and his focus working every day harder has improved.”
“His way here, his skills, scoring goals, assists, improves. We decided more or less one month ago to extend his contract.”
The manager wasn’t the only figure in the first team to express his delight with Bailey’s form and contract decision, with a host of Villa players taking to social media to congratulate their teammate.
What Aston Villa players have said to Leon Bailey after his contract news
Joined by Villa’s social media team, Bailey took to Instagram to share the news of his new deal, captioning his post “the journey continues!”
The comment section was flooded with an abundance of congratulatory messages as many of the squad members commended their teammate.
Emi Martinez said, “fully deserved bro”, with new signing Morgan Rogers echoing the Argentine’s message by saying, “congrats my brudda”.
Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn, Tyrone Mings, Moussa Diaby, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa were also among the comments, as well as former Villan, Bertrand Traore.
The 28-year-old, who had his contract with Villa mutually terminated last month, posted a message that read, “congrats bro well deserved”.
Everyone at the club will hope that Bailey’s resurgence this season will continue for years to come.
