Aston Villa are reportedly confident of finally landing the signature of Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth €50m+.
The 24-year-old joined the Bundesliga side in July 2019 having previously come through the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, and he has since gone on to contribute 49 goals and 48 assists in 172 appearances for the club.
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That impressive form has in turn helped establish him as one of the top attacking talents in Europe, and unsurprisingly it has also led to plenty of discussion over his future.
Speculation has been rife over the past week, with Villa heavily linked with making a move for him to strengthen Unai Emery’s attacking options this summer.
According to Sky Sport Germany, Diaby is now ‘about to move to’ Villa, with an agreement in principle being reached over a deal worth €50m plus add-ons, and the transfer is tipped to be finalised in the coming days.
It comes amid ongoing talk of strong interest from Al-Nassr too, but with Fabrizio Romano also reporting that Villa are now very confident that they will get the deal done having got approval from Diaby over a move to join us and be part of Emery’s side, it appears as though we may well be set to win the race to sign him.
Having done so impressively well under Emery after he took charge in November to go on and qualify for Europe, Villa are looking to add real quality and raise the level in the squad this summer having already secured the signings of Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans.
Our attack is seemingly the next priority to provide support and competition for the likes of Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Buendia, and it appears as though it is becoming increasingly likely that Diaby will be the target to add a new dynamic to our attacking play.
With his pace, creativity, directness and eye for goal, it could prove to be an excellent signing for Villa, but there is still the threat of Al-Nassr’s interest given their ability to offer a highly lucrative deal. That said, if we can wrap up a transfer before the weekend, Diaby could yet join up with the rest of the squad on our pre-season tour in the USA.