As cameos go, it was a pretty thrilling one.

With Aston Villa lacking the required decisiveness in the final third, seeming short of ideas against Everton at Villa Park, coach Dean Smith decided it was the perfect time to throw on their new signing Leon Bailey in the 61st minute, and change the game he did.

The Jamaican international immediately curled in a dangerous free kick, a few minutes later Matty Cash bombed down the right flank to score his first Villa goal.

Soon after, Bailey’s set-piece qualities were evident once again, utilizing that wand of a left-boot to swing in a peach of a cross from a corner which forced Everton left-back Lucas Digne to head into his own net; you simply do not defend those crosses as the French defender found out

Six minutes later, Danny Ings played a devastating cross-field pass in front of Bailey and the Jamaican headed the ball ahead of himself while charging into the penalty area.

For his next touch, he rifled the ball into the roof of the net in front of a delirious Holte End to make it 3-0. It was a finish truly reminiscent of his time at Bayer Leverkusen where he registered 46 Bundesliga goal involvements during his five year spell in Germany.

Ten minutes later he was forced off with a thigh strain apparently picked up from kicking the ball hard for his first goal in English football. 

Bailey became only the second Villa player to be subbed on, score, and then be subbed off in a Premier League match, after Julian Joachim against Derby County in September 2000.

The 24-year-old was only on the field for 21 minutes, yet he provided the crucial impact Villa needed. If those 20-odd minutes were any indicator for how his Villa career would look like in the next few years, then Aston Villa really do have a stunning player on their hands.

Bailey joined the club this summer at the peak of Jack Grealish’s transfer saga, which perhaps meant his arrival was not met with the excitement it deserved. But make no mistake, this is one of the most exciting signings at Villa Park for a long time.

If you were indeed to throw a spanner in the works, then Leon Bailey is just as good as Jack Grealish. The fact that Aston Villa secured his signature for a fee of only just £30million is an absolute snip, because the forward on another day may well have been valued double that figure, so in actual fact its a superb bit of business from Dean Smith.

The club’s strategy in recent years have been nothing short of excellent often involved buying up some of the best players in the Championship, like Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins and Emi Buendia. Sometimes they have sought out players unhappy at clubs further up the English football pyramid, like Emi Martinez from Arsenal or Tyrone Mings at Bournemouth during Villa’s time in the second tier.

Rather less successfully, the club have shopped in Europe’s lesser leagues such as the signings of Mbwana Samatta and Wesley from Belgian sides.

However, Leon Bailey is a totally different proposition, arguably the most prestigious signing of the lot.

A player with bags of European experience, playing at the top level and Christian Purslow could have been forgiven for jumping for joy when the Jamaican forward chose Villa Park rather than a more elite-level club playing Champions League football, because to put it simply Leon Bailey is indeed a Champions League level footballer.

For donkey-years, the Jamaican international has been linked with a whole host of top level clubs in Europe, and much of that has been down to his superb form for Bayer Leverkusen.

Deployed as a winger, Bailey scored 15 goals in 40 games last season, claiming 11 assists. He was indeed amongst the most accomplished wingers in European football last term, but as a result of Grealish’s move to Manchester City, Villa fans weren’t as excited and optimistic about Bailey’s arrival as they should have been.

Make no mistakes about it, Leon Bailey can play. He’s a devastating winger, a real problem for opposing defences, not just because of his speed and drive but his scintilating trickery, swift change of movement and unbelievable ball-carrying skills.

Last season, Villa were often overly reliant on Grealish and looked severely weakened in his absence. The club are looking this season to keep the ball better, to progress the ball much quicker into the final third areas and most importantly convert most of their chances and with Leon Bailey, Villa now hold the qualities to kill three birds with one stone. 

In fact not only do they have Bailey to address those glaring weaknesses but Dean Smith now holds bags of quality at his disposal including Emiliano Buendia, and Danny Ings.

The Villa coach aims to qualify for European football come May and those three players alone possess the ability to both replace Grealish’s influence and creativity in the final third but more importantly, fire this ever-progressive football club to the next phase of their proud development.

Bailey has so often divided opinion in Germany because of his lack of consistency or attitude but despite all his issues, he still managed to contribute considerably to Bayer Leverkusen’s gradual improvements in recent seasons. When he is on-song he is indeed unstoppable as Everton defender Ben Godfrey found out on Saturday despite Bailey only having just 11 touches during his 21 minutes on the pitch.

Certainly, the absence of Jack Grealish will still be felt around the Aston Villa faithful but possessing the qualities of players like Leon Bailey means the fans will indeed begin to heal once the Jamaican starts firing on all cylinders. His performance against Everton was only a pretty brief stint, but its a promising and a very pleasing evidence for Dean Smith and the whole club that they can now be allowed the freedom and room to progress and move forward post-Jack Grealish.

Villa fans now have something to smile and shout about. They have a new superstar in Leon Bailey.

The rest of the Premier League will have to stand up and be warned at the sight of the Jamaican winger.