Leon Bailey: ‘I’m used to tough times. I never let anything break me down’

Leon Bailey is reflecting on his childhood in Cassava Piece, the ghetto neighbourhood in Kingston where he grew up, the place that shaped his outlook before a one-way ticket to Europe helped him to fulfil his football dream. “Jamaica is a very beautiful country but, you know, it has its good sides and bad sides,” the Aston Villa winger says. “The inner-city community is where I’m from. There were a lot of times where there was no money there to put food on the table or lunch money to go to school. There were tough times … but I’m used to tough times. That’s why I never let anything break me down. I just build myself back up and learn from it. It makes me stronger and want to push on even more.”

It is why Bailey will not let a frustrating injury-hit first season at Villa Park beat him. He made 18 appearances and scored one goal after a £30m move from Bayer Leverkusen, making seven starts, the last of which ended when he was forced off with an ankle problem in April. But Bailey never needs to think too hard to gain perspective. The words “Cassava Piece Kingston Where It All Started” are etched on to a pair of his boots.

After moving to Austria at the age of 12 with his adoptive father, Craig Butler, and his brothers, Kyle and Kevaughn, in the hope of securing trials and contracts, things were tight. They hopped between hostels and Butler cleaned toilets to make ends meet. “We had to eat tuna sandwiches for lunch and dinner sometimes,” Bailey says. “I didn’t see the rest of my family for four and a half years. It was very tough. But it was part of what we were prepared to do because of where we wanted to go. We stuck to the plan.”

The obvious place to begin is Bailey’s form given his electric pre-season displays – he is set