Everton scouts to watch Leon Bailey on Thursday – report
Everton scouts will watch 23-year-old Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey on Thursday night, according to Mail Online.
Bailey is expected to line up against Slavia Prague as Leverkusen look to finish top of their Europa League group.
Everton scouts will be keenly watching the Jamaican’s performance with the club looking to bring him to Goodison Park in the summer.
The report also states that scouts from Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United will also be watching Bailey as the Toffees face competition for the Bundesliga star’s signature.
Mail Online also suggest that Leverkusen value Bailey at £36 million and that they rejected an offer from Leeds United in the summer for their star man.
This is a decent fee for a player with no Premier League experience but there is a reason why many top teams are interested in Bailey’s services.
Bailey already has five goals and six assists in 14 competitive appearances for Leverkusen this season and recently bagged two assists in one game during a classy performance against Schalke.
The Jamaican is a natural right winger which would mean he would be competing with James Rodriguez for a place in the Everton team.
According to Wyscout, Bailey is outperforming Rodriguez on some key stats for a winger as the Leverkusen man is averaging 2.64 progressive runs per game this season while Rodriguez is averaging just 0.81 progressive runs per 90 minutes.
Bailey also has an expected goals rate of 0.32xG per game this season which is double Rodriguez’s xG of 0.16.
Though, Rodriguez is slightly outperforming Bailey when it comes to dribbles with both players successful with 56.3% and 52.6% of their dribbles this season respectively.
Bailey is a top talent and he could be an excellent signing for Everton but if he continues to impress this season that £36 million fee may begin to rise.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell has discussed how big of a blow Fabian Delph’s injury is to the Toffees.