Leon Bailey reveals 'concrete interest' in transfer

The 20-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Bundesliga in recent months, with reports claiming that the Blues had prioritised a £40 million ($52m) move for the winger, after missing out on Malcom, who joined Barcelona from Bordeaux.

Bailey has impressed during his time at Leverkusen, making a total of 44 appearances and scoring 12 goals, while also laying on seven assists.

Capable of playing on both the left and the right flank, Bailey has been marked out as a star-in-the-making, and he has suggested that there are Premier League clubs interested in luring him away from Germany.

When asked specifically about interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Serie A side Roma, Bailey told Kicker: "There's concrete interest.

"What I can say is that my full focus is on developing myself as a young player, and that's what I'll focus on. If a club wants me, my management and Bayer 04 will take care of it."

For now, Bailey is solely focused on the upcoming Bundesliga season, and is hopeful of challenging for the title, despite Leverkusen finishing fifth last season, 29 points behind eventual champions Bayern Munich.

"We want to play for the title. Bayern Munich is one of the three strongest teams in the world for me, but in football you never know. We have to be focused, then we can do a lot with our quality to reach our goal."

A raft of clubs have been linked with the Jamaica-born star this summer, with Roma, who were previously close to buying Malcom, having emerged as a potential suitor.

Other major clubs have also been associated with the youngster over the course of the transfer window, including Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Leverkusen captain Sven Bender, however, wants to see the attacker remain at Bayer for the long term.

"He has got special abilities, he is incredibly fast and great at dribbling," Bender told Goal. "But we did not expect that he would explode that fast. This example shows that football is a fast-paced business.

"It is important that he handles the hype around him correctly and does not want too much too fast. Now everybody comes to him and suddenly wants something from him.

"He is only 20 years old and therefore still has development potential. He is a great player and will probably leave one day for a high fee, but I wish him to stay with us for a long time."

Bayer's Bundesliga campaign begins on August 25 with a trip to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Source: Goal.com

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