As the winter transfer window was approaching, it became increasingly clear that Genk wanted to sell one of their best assets. Stories were pushed to the Belgian media about Genk wanting to be strong in the face of interest in Wilfred Ndidi and Leon Bailey, but there was always the caveat that the club couldn’t refuse a big offer.
Leicester City came along and got a deal sorted out for Wilfred Ndidi within days, Genk even let the player travel for his medical before the window had actually opened. Once it was clear Leicester would pay a good price, Genk were happy to present the midfielder on a plate.
With Ndidi gone, it was felt likelier that Bailey would stay until the end of the season, but that didn’t prove to be the case. Bailey pushed for a transfer and ended up joining Bayer Leverkusen, the German club brave enough to take on the circus which comes with the player.
Belgian newspaper HLN have asked Bailey if the departure of his ‘best buddy’ Ndidi to Leicester City influenced his own decision making: “No. Before his transfer to Leicester was my decision that I would leave.”
So Genk went towards the window making noises about standing strong in the face of interest, and came out of the window without both of their most valuable assets.
