By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- 20-year-old Leon Bailey is the man of the hour in the German Bundesliga, delivering magic goals and radiating a contagious joy. The Bundesliga's biggest attraction is promising to stay with his club Bayer Leverkusen until the summer but admitted to having dreams of Premier League glory.
"I promise to stay with Leverkusen for the rest of the season," Bailey told the German media after Leverkusen secured the second position on the table by beating FSV Mainz 2-0. Bailey has a valid contract until 2022. However, according to rumors, the agreement contains exit-clauses.
Though Bailey's commitment might please Leverkusen manager Heiko Herrlich and managing sports director Rudi Völler, they are well aware that the club's most valuable performer could be on his way to join one of the big English clubs as soon as next summer. "It is no secret, I am dreaming of the Premier League. But at the moment it is great fun to play with a fantastic team in Leverkusen," Bailey commented.
Having scored eight goals and delivered six assists, the Jamaican-born striker is the driving factor behind the side's current success.
Bailey is creating a buzz in Leverkusen; the likes of which the club has not experienced for many years. In 2002, fans saw Leverkusen challenge Spanish giant Real Madrid in the Champions League final only to be knocked out by a stunning Zinedine Zidane volley.
Leverkusen has only ever won one German title in the club's history (the German Cup in 1993) earning the club the unenviable nickname of "Neverkusen." In 2002 the club not only lost the Champions League final but also gambled away the Bundesliga title and the German Cup.
At the end of the 2017/2018 Bundesliga season, Leverkusen most likely won't have won its first league title but the fans can sense something important is happening at the club. "We feel something big is growing, a great team is developing," striker Julian Brandt emphasized.
The German international said the team depends on Bailey's inspiring input as "he is worth his weight in gold for us."
Enthusiasm among fans is also reaching a fever pitch as supporters after games not only ask for Bailey's shirt but are holding up banners asking for his socks.
Bailey joined Leverkusen in the winter break in 2017 for 13.5 million euros (105,840,675 CNY) from the Belgian side KRC Genk having made his debut in the first team in 2015. He was voted as the best youngster that year. In his second year, he scored seven goals in 12 games in the Europa League.
"We are aware [that] he is attracting interest from bigger clubs when he is continuously performing on such a high level," Leverkusen managing director Jonas Boldt commented.
Boldt says the striker is a gifted youngster with a perfect mixture of tremendous speed and courage and always going for man-to-man duels. Boldt says the club's scouts were impressed by Bailey's abilities right from the start.
Bailey grew up in one of Kingston's poor districts. Together with his brother Kyle he was brought to Europe at the age of 14. Genk officials managed to find a school but things didn't always go smoothly and there are reports that Bailey disappeared for two years before returning to Genk.
Dark days have disappeared as Leverkusen can be seen as Bailey's breakthrough.
"We might get offers for him, but we don't intend to think about his departure next summer," Völler commented. Völler also mentioned plans to build a competitive team around Bailey. "We will give [our] all to [try and] convince him to stay and be [a] part of the great team spirit [that is] developing," Völler said.
