Leon Bailey joins AS Roma on loan from Aston Villa

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey has completed a loan move to Serie A side AS Roma for the 2025/26 season, with the deal including an option to buy.

🟡🔴🇯🇲 Official, confirmed. AS Roma sign Leon Bailey from Aston Villa on €2m loan fee plus €22m buy option clause not mandatory. pic.twitter.com/3OG08WegbG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 20, 2025

From Villa spark to Rome switch for Bailey

The 28-year-old Jamaican arrives in the Italian capital after four years at Villa Park, where he scored 22 goals in 144 appearances. Signed for £25 million from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021, Bailey showed glimpses of brilliance in England, most notably in the 2023/24 season when he netted 10 Premier League goals and registered nine assists as Villa secured Champions League qualification. That campaign, where he produced a goal contribution every 109 minutes, was the high point of his Villa career.

However, Bailey’s influence has waned since then. Despite signing a new contract in February 2024 running until 2027, he struggled for consistency last term, scoring just twice in 38 games across all competitions. As a result, he slipped down Unai Emery’s pecking order, with the manager open to letting him leave.

Financial factors also played a role in Villa’s decision. With the club navigating both the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and UEFA’s squad cost rules (SCR), Bailey — a high earner with significant market value — was seen as a logical candidate to move on.

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The loan deal is reported to cost Roma around €2 million (£1.7m), with an option to make the move permanent for €23 million (£19.8m). For Roma, it represents a low-risk opportunity to revive the winger’s career, while Villa ease their financial pressures.

Bailey will arrive in Rome tonight to finalise the move, and if he can recapture the form of 2023/24, the Italian side could have secured themselves a bargain.