I've noticed why Leon Bailey's Aston Villa struggles won't last much longer

After a sensational 2023/24 season, Leon Bailey will be frustrated that he hasn't hit the ground running this time round.

Without a goal in his first 10 appearances of the campaign, he has come under criticism for his lack of output and overall performance levels so far this term. That's because supporters know what he is capable of after posting 28 goal contributions in all competitions last season, including 10 goals and nine assists in the Premier League.

He played a crucial role in the success Aston Villa enjoyed last season as they finished in the top four and also reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. In fact, Bailey was often playing through the pain barrier at the back end of last campaign to help Villa get over the line in the Premier League.

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He missed the final day defeat to Crystal Palace, alongside the likes of Emi Martinez, Youri Tielemans, Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers after a few hectic weeks. The winger started Villa's first three Premier League matches before the September international break, but suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the win over Leicester City.

After then missing Villa's first match back against Everton, Bailey travelled with his teammates to face BSC Young Boys in the Champions League, but he didn't get on the pitch. He recorded his first goal contribution of the season in the 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town a month ago, though clearly wasn't operating at his best level still.

That was even more apparent when he started on the bench in Villa's big Champions League clash with German giants Bayern Munich. He was introduced in the first half after Jacob Ramsey suffered an injury, but Bailey only lasted until the 60th minute before he had to come off.

It came as a surprise to some that Bailey started the following match against Manchester United. He was replaced after an hour after failing to make much of an impact.

After full-time, Emery confirmed Bailey had been struggling with a host of niggles in the first two months of the season, hence his drop in form. "Leon Bailey is progressively getting better, but he is not fit completely 100 per cent," he said. "He is having some problems and injuries, not getting comfortable to play 90 minutes or feeling fit."

It's been a similar story for Bailey in Villa's first two games back after the October break. He started against Fulham and Bologna and was replaced in both with 30 minutes remaining. Of course, Emery has a host of options on the bench to call on to freshen the game up, but when Bailey is at it, he can be the most dangerous player on the pitch for Villa. That's how good he was last season.

When Bailey pulls out wide, gets chalk on his boots and sizes up his man, a sense of expectancy rises around Villa Park and bums lift off seats. Against Bologna, he didn't quite play with the confidence he was showing last term, but the key thing was he never went hiding, always looking to affect the game and make a positive decision. That couldn't be said about him before Emery arrived at the club when he'd often go missing in matches.

Granted, most things he is trying at the moment aren't coming off, but we know he has enough quality that his fortunes will soon turn. Bailey spoke last year about how mentally he is in a far better place because he trusts his body and there's every chance that his lack of confidence of late comes down to those niggles which Emery spoke about earlier this month.

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