Hull City have held talks with Villa and Bailey's representatives over a permanent move for the 28-year-old, who has a year left on his contract and is understood to favour staying in England over interest from Trabzonspor and Celta Vigo. Sky Sports place the deal at the talks stage with significant work still to do. A single unverified transfer account claimed on July 19th that a verbal agreement had been reached at around £12m plus £3m in bonuses with a medical to follow; no established outlet has corroborated that, so the board holds the deal at talks. Fresh reporting on July 20th placed the discussions at an earlier point than that claim implied. A TEAMtalk exclusive and The Hard Tackle both described Hull and Villa as in negotiations with no agreement reached, and set out the structural disagreement: with a year left on Bailey's contract Hull would prefer a loan, while Villa want a permanent sale rather than see his value expire. The 28-year-old, a £25m signing from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 who spent the first half of last season on loan at Roma before returning to help win the Europa League in Istanbul, has been told he can leave. Hull are not alone: TEAMtalk report competing interest from Celta Vigo and from Bundesliga clubs. The £12m-plus-bonuses verbal agreement claimed by an unverified account on July 19th remains uncorroborated by any established outlet, and the July 20th reporting cuts against it.
Primary source: The Athletic, via OneFootball; TEAMtalk (exclusive); The Hard Tackle · last corroborated July 20th.
| Date | What changed | |
|---|---|---|
| July 19th | Tracked | Rumor opened on the board at 43% (talks) — source: The Athletic, via OneFootball; Sports Mole. The Athletic reported on July 19th that newly promoted Hull City have held talks with Villa and with Bailey's representatives in recent days over a permanent move for the Jamaica international. Bailey, 28, is not part of Unai Emery's plans and Villa would prefer a permanent sale rather than a loan. Trabzonspor and Celta Vigo have also registered interest, but the winger is understood to favour staying in England. Reported figures put the fee in the region of £12m with roughly £3m in add-ons, though that structure comes from a lower-tier exclusive rather than the Athletic's account, which frames the discussions as talks rather than an agreement. Bailey joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 and has made 163 appearances for Villa, scoring 23 goals with 25 assists. His exit would leave Villa without their only senior natural right winger, sharpening the need for the wide addition Emery has been chasing all window. |
Timeline reflects our tracking history since the rumor joined the board, not every media mention. For everything Villa, live: the Verdict homepage.