5 of the most improved players in Europe this season

#2 Leon Bailey

Bailey has been the stand-out performer for Leverkusen

Back in January, Leon Bailey was supposed to be the injection of pace that Bayer Leverkusen needed to compete for the Champions League places in the Bundesliga again. It’s taken a little longer than that but the speedy Jamaican is more than making up for lost time.

He started this season on the bench but after two assists in his first start against Hamburg, he is yet to look back. Four goals and four assists are tidy returns but it’s the extra dimension he gives the team that makes him so impressive.

His pace in behind and attacking players with the ball at his feet attracts defenders like moths to a flame, because they either get burned by him or by those they are leaving open. Kevin Volland is scoring more goals with the space he helps create, Kai Haverts and Julian Brandt are allowed to play more centrally to give them more options in the box too.

Simply put, his rise is not just making him a better player but benefitting all those around him.