Aston Villa hoping for Leon Bailey boost
Villa are monitoring the fitness of Leon Bailey with Dean Smith keen to hand the winger a first Premier League start.
Bailey made only his fourth appearance since a £25million summer move from Bayer Leverkusen when he came off the bench at half-time during last week’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.
The 24-year-old had spent more than a month sidelined with a calf injury and appeared to tire in the closing stages at the Emirates.
But the hope is that after a full week of work at Bodymoor Heath he will be available to start Sunday’s home fixture with West Ham, with Smith eager to arrest his team’s three-match losing streak.
Bailey’s Villa career has so far been productive but frustratingly brief. Despite playing just 126 minutes, the Jamaica international has scored one goal and set up three more and Smith believes he can help spark a revival in fortunes.
