Aston Villa have given the green light for Leon Bailey to complete a surprise permanent move to Olympiacos, with the winger travelling to Athens for a medical.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Olympiacos have reached a verbal agreement over the 29-year-old after Villa spent much of the summer attempting to find him a new club.
Bailey is now heading to Greece to undergo medical tests before signing a contract running until June 2029.
No transfer fee has yet been reported.
Leon Bailey finally closes in on Aston Villa exit
The breakthrough comes just one day after the English transfer window closed.
Bailey remained at Villa despite interest from several clubs, but overseas windows gave Unai Emery‘s side additional time to find a solution.
That prompted us to report how Aston Villa still had a fresh Leon Bailey exit opportunity after the Premier League deadline.
Saudi clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Diriyah had been exploring potential moves.
Olympiacos have now jumped ahead of them.
Greek reporting also says an agreement has been reached with Villa and that Bailey is travelling to Athens to complete the formalities before signing his three-year contract.
The development represents the biggest progression in Bailey’s future since his proposed Hull City transfer collapsed.
Villa and Hull had agreed a deal worth around £8million earlier in the summer, but personal terms prevented the move from going through.
Bailey subsequently attracted interest from Sevilla, with Villa even considering a contract extension before sanctioning a possible season-long loan.
That route also failed to produce an agreement.
Unai Emery gets Leon Bailey outcome he wanted
Emery has made Villa’s position clear throughout the closing stages of the window.
The Villa manager publicly admitted the club expected Bailey to leave and wanted him to find another opportunity elsewhere.
His first-team prospects had already diminished considerably following Villa’s attacking rebuild.
Nicolas Jackson, Alejandro Garnacho and Ibrahim Mbaye have all arrived this summer, with Mbaye completing his €55million move from PSG on Deadline Day.
Bailey was also absent from Villa’s opening Premier League matchday squads against Brighton and Arsenal.
Villa’s attempts to move him on had therefore become one of the final unresolved pieces of their transfer window.
That appeared set to continue after the English deadline passed, with our Deadline Day analysis identifying Bailey as the remaining senior transfer question.
Olympiacos have now provided the solution.
Bailey still has to complete his medical and sign the required documents before either club can formally announce the transfer.
But after Hull, Sevilla and Saudi interest all failed to produce an exit, the Jamaica international is finally on the verge of leaving Villa permanently.
