Bailey returns to Aston Villa: what went wrong at Roma?

Multiple sources in Italy claim that Leon Bailey is set to return to Aston Villa after a disappointing loan spell at Roma, but what went wrong at the Olimpico for the 28-year-old?

Roma and Aston Villa have agreed to terminate Bailey’s loan spell at the Stadio Olimpico. Gazzetta dello Sport first reported the story on Tuesday, which was later confirmed by Sky Sport Italia.

Bailey joined the Giallorossi last summer on a €2m loan deal with an option to buy for €22m, but his time in the capital has been massively affected by physical issues.

Bailey suffered his first injury at Roma in his very first training session with the Giallorossi. It was a muscle problem that ruled him out for two months, so the Jamaican winger only made his Roma debut as a substitute on October 18 in a home 1-0 loss against Inter.

One week later, he started his first and only Serie A match, playing 50 minutes in a 1-0 win over Sassuolo.

Three days later, he replaced the injured Evan Ferguson after just seven minutes of a home game against Parma, but was replaced during the break, collecting just 38 minutes of football.

In November, Bailey missed three more games due to a hamstring injury and five more between December and the start of January.

He returned to action last week, starting in a Coppa Italia game against Torino, but was then omitted from the squad again for Sunday’s latest Serie A fixture, also against the Granata.

Surely, injuries didn’t allow Bailey to adapt to Italian football and Gian Piero Gasperini’s playing style. Back in October, the Italian tactician explained his tactical plans for Bailey: “He’s definitely an attacking player, a player who should spend most of his time in attack,” said the Roma boss.

“I think he was used to playing on the wing a lot in England, very wide, more on the right than on the left because he’s left-footed.

“I want to bring him more into the centre, towards the goal, as with Soule and lots of other players. I intend to do the same with him. But he’s not a player who’s used to playing that way. We’ll need to learn together and assess his qualities.”

Clearly, injuries didn’t give Gasp the time he needed to work with Bailey, who only provided two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions at Roma, spending just 317 minutes on the pitch and missing 17 matches.

Prior to Bailey’s departure, Roma had signed Robinio Vaz from Olympique Marseille and Donyell Malen on loan with an option to buy from Aston Villa. The Dutch striker has had an immediate impact, scoring 26 minutes into his debut with the Giallorossi.