“The ball is my life, so I have to live it.” – Leon Bailey
Currently at the ever-so-familiar crossroads of choosing his national identity, Leon Bailey is a prodigy that everyone wants a piece of.

First in line for the crown. With all the praise lavished on 21 year-old Leon Bailey over the past two years, undoubtedly the greatest is one given by fans in Germany who have labelled him the successor to Arjen Robben as the best right-winger in the Bundesliga. Bearing in mind that Leon Bailey was only 12 when Robben first joined Bayern Munich in 2009, and begun his monopoly of the right-wing, added to the fact that Bailey learnt his craft not in the academies of Europe, but rural Jamaica, it is a remarkable status placed upon the young winger. Yet in an era where instant and sometimes overstated praise is heaped upon footballers based on a 10 sec Twitter clip, it feels entirely justifiable, and more so, entirely correct, to have the vision of Bailey as the successor. The throne is moving.
Bailey was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and his trip to European football was an arduous one. Along with adoptive father Craig Butler and his and son Kyle Butler, the trio travelled Europe in 2012 searching for a club to sign for. Eventually, they tried to stay in Belgium, but after a series of work permit issues, Bailey eventually signed for a club in Slovakia in 2015, AS Trencin. Yet, that was short-lived as Bailey eventually made his way back to Belgium in August 2015 after he had turned 18, and signed for KRC Genk, where stars such as Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois had once earnt their stripes.