Southampton were never going to pay £30m for Leon Bailey and were in no position to rival Aston Villa for his signature, says former Saints midfielder Carlton Palmer.
Bailey recently joined Villa from Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal just before Jack Grealish’s move to Manchester City.
However, prior, the 23-year-old winger had also been linked with Southampton. According to 90min, the south coast club, Leicester City and a couple of other Premier League sides were all interested in signing Bailey this summer.
Given the money involved and Villa’s current Premier League standing, though, Palmer does not think his old side were ever really in the running for the player.
“They were never going to do that [pay £30m],” the ex-Southampton star told FFC. “And they wouldn’t have been able to rival Aston Villa in terms of salary that’s going to be paid, the fee and the fact that Aston Villa were near the top 10 last season.”
It could have been some acquisition for Ralph Hasenhuttl and Southampton, with Bailey in fantastic form at the BayArena last season.
The Jamaica international came up with an impressive 17 goal contributions in Leverkusen’s Bundesliga campaign, helping the German side to a sixth-placed finish.