Reports: Chelsea to make move for highly rated Bundesliga starlet

What's the story?

Chelsea suffered a difficult start to their Premier League campaign after losing on the opening day of the season to Burnley. Two more losses against league leaders Manchester City and struggling Crystal Palace means that the defending champions currently find themselves in third place, 11 points off the top of the table.

The Blues have managed to recover their winning form in the last few weeks, winning six of their seven last matches. They will need to continue this form if they hope to mount a serious run for the title, and they will need to reinforce their squad in January to do so. According to reports from the Sun, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has identified Bayer Leverkusen's 20-year-old winger Leon Bailey as a potential target.

In case you didn't know...

Leon Bailey has begun the 2017/18 Bundesliga season in terrific form, scoring 5 goals from 13 appearances in all competitions for Leverkusen. The youngster began his professional career at Genk in Belgium, where he developed a reputation for being able to score stunning goals from difficult situations, even winning the award for Goal of the Competition in last year's edition of the UEFA Europa League.

Bailey is a strong runner with a trick or two up his sleeve and is able to go on rampaging runs down either flank. His style of play has earned him favourable comparisons with the Bundesliga's Flying Dutchman himself, Arjen Robben, and his blistering pace has seen him likened to Usain Bolt, who happens to be a close friend of Bailey's.

The heart of the matter

Chelsea look like they will be missing out on Paris Saint-Germain's Lucas Moura in the upcoming transfer window after the Brazilian winger rubbished any claims of his seemingly imminent move to London. Chelsea have also reportedly scouted the player on more than one occasion and have been following his development since he was at Genk.

The likes of Willian and Pedro have also been relegated to a bit-part role in recent weeks after a dip in form and Conte may look to replace them in the future. Bailey has also shown an interest in joining the defending champions, with the Jamaican winger liking a tweet from Transfer News Live's twitter account, which claimed that Chelsea are interested in him.

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Author's take

Chelsea have the financial capability to sign Leon Bailey if they wish to, and they will need to reinforce their squad if they have any chance of catching up to Manchester City. Bailey also seems to be okay with the idea of moving to Chelsea, and the move could go through if Antonio Conte acts quickly.