Aston Villa transfer news: Leon Bailey leaves on permanent deal, AEK Athens miss out on Jamaica international

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey has signed for Olympiacos on a permanent deal.

Having been linked with an exit from the Premier League club throughout the summer window, the Jamaica international was always expected to find a new club.

However, Bailey's options became limited once the September 1 deadline passed earlier this week, and it appeared that AEK Athens would win the race for his signature.

The Champions League club were heavily linked with the 29-year-old on Thursday and looked likely to close a deal.

Instead, Olympiacos announced on Wednesday night that they had gazumped their Greek rivals.

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Although a fee has not bee disclosed, journalist Jacob Tanswell has reported that Olympiacos are paying £3.4m to sign the wide player.

The cut-price fee is due to Bailey having entered the final year of his contract and Villa not wanting to risk him signing a pre-contract agreement with a club in January before leaving on a free transfer.

Nevertheless, Villa will be happy to generate a fee for Bailey when he had no future under Unai Emery.

Bailey will leave Villa having contributed 23 goals and 25 assists from his 163 appearances for the club since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021.

Olympiacos are adding another high-profile name to a squad that will hope to contend for the Europa League trophy this season.

They have started their Greek Super League campaign with back-to-back 1-0 victories.