Racing Genk winger Leon Bailey has told Sport/Voetbalmagazine in Belgium (via Voetbalnieuws) that he did have interest from the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Juventus before he opted to sign for Genk in 2015.
The 19 year old was named Belgium’s Young Player of the Year for his performances last season and Bailey believes that he was fortunate that visa problems allowed him to join the Belgian side instead and develop in the first team.
“Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, were all clubs that my name had then been linked, contacted by. Everyone wanted me, but not everyone could get the paperwork in order. I did it (joining Genk) for my development, not the biggest club. I have to play at my age and progress.”
“I thought that I would succeed in Genk here, and that happened. I was the Young Player of the Year. Many youngsters skip right away if they get the chance to go to Chelsea, but they are loaned to a smaller side and fade away. If I go to the Premier League, it is to play there.”
Bailey is a Jamaican citizen and therefore a non EU national making a work permit difficult to obtain which probably explains why any move to England didn’t worked out. The 19 year old is a controversial figure as he was moved illegally to Belgium by his agent Craig Butler. The whole saga is a long and complicated one which you can read more about here. Needless to say that Bailey has had an interesting career up to this point.
