Aston Villa recall star from loan and he can play for Unai Emery’s side immediately

Aston Villa have recalled Leon Bailey from his loan at Roma and he could be brought straight back into the squad this weekend.

Bailey left Villa Park in August to join the Italian giants, but he is already returning to England after less than five months.

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The Jamaican winger made 11 appearances for Roma across that time, with seven of those coming in Serie A.

He only started two games out of his 11 at the club though, failing to score a goal and providing two assists in total.

Injuries held Bailey back at the start of his loan in the Italian capital, as he picked up a problem in his first training session after signing.

That meant he wasn’t able to make his Roma debut until October, as he was forced to be sidelined for two months.

He suffered another injury blow a month later, missing three games, before missing another five throughout the festive period.

Bailey had just returned last week, as he started in the Coppa Italia, but he was then dropped again at the weekend.

And now he’s going to be heading back to Aston Villa.

Unai Emery could immediately welcome him back into the squad too, with a huge Premier League clash coming up.

He is going to be available to feature against Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.

Villa boss Emery reportedly made the decision to bring Bailey back on Tuesday, with Roma informed about the recall.

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Bailey back at Villa

Bailey has made 144 appearances for Aston Villa having joined them from from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021.

The 28-year-old has scored 22 goals and provided 24 assists across the following four years.

He missed over 50 games for Villa and Jamaica during that time, as injuries plagued his tough career in England.

His best season came in 2023/24, with Bailey able to show the best of his ability to help secure Champions League qualification.

Bailey scored ten and assisted nine Premier League goals during that campaign. Bailey also had a hand in six goals in Europe.

Emery will now hope to see the winger rediscover some of that form to provide another attacking option for his side.

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Villa’s transfer business

Aston Villa are currently on the lookout for reinforcements up front after opting to loan Donyell Malen to Roma.

With Bailey now coming back from the Italian side soon after, it means they won’t be left short out wide.

But the club are still aiming to bring in another striker, with eyes on multiple targets in the January transfer window.

talkSPORT understands that Villa are interested in signing Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace this month.

And they also have an agreement in place with Roma to sign Tammy Abraham on loan, but negotiations are expected to be tough.

Abraham is currently on loan at Besiktas and the Turkish club will have to agree to let him go and may not want to.