Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have been told to pay £100m if they want to land Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey. According to The Sun, the Bundesliga club see Bailey on par with Ousmane Dembele who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona for £97m.
The 20-year-old, who joined Leverkusen from Belgian outfit KRC Genk in January 2017, has been sensational in Germany. Bailey has scored and created 13 goals in 14 league starts this season, which has surprisingly led to interest from a number of European clubs.
However, Leverkusen squad manager Jonas Boldt has no intention of letting the winger leave for cheap if the club have to sell. Boldt remains determined to keep the Jamaican international to boost their hopes of reaching the Champions League, but also compared Bailey to Dembele, who earned his big-money move in the summer.
“We are not wasting any thoughts on letting him go. Our goal is to reach Champions League with him and build on that,” Boldt told kicker, reports ESPN. “But if he continues to work hard, keeps both feet firmly on the ground and develops in a place like Leverkusen, why shouldn’t he grow into a category like Dembele?”
Manchester United are being linked with Bailey by the British media, but it appears unlikely that Jose Mourinho will be adding to his attack any time soon, however, with the Portuguese coach recently stating his desire to bolster the midfield not frontline.
The Red Devils have stiff competition for places, with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata all vying for game time, meaning Arsenal and Chelsea stand a better chance of landing the 20-year-old.
£100m is insanity.