Moussa Diaby has confirmed his exit from Aston Villa via social media, with the club reportedly set to receive €60m for the French international.
The 25-year-old joined us from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, and went on to score 10 goals and provide nine assists in 54 appearances across all competitions.
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While he did struggle at times for consistency and to produce his best form while trying to adapt and fit into Unai Emery’s structure and style of play, Diaby ultimately played a pivotal role in helping us secure Champions League football this year.
However, his time with the club has come to an end, as although Villa have yet to release an official statement, both the club and the French winger have posted on social media to bid farewell, as he has opted to join Al Ittihad.
Thank you for everything 💜 @AVFCOfficial #M19🌪️ pic.twitter.com/PeBWeySSfX
— Moussa Diaby (@MoussaDiaby_19) July 24, 2024
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa will receive €60m in total for Diaby, and so while that goes some way to helping us balance our books having spent significantly this summer already to strengthen Emery’s squad, it also perhaps arms us with more funds to continue to bring reinforcements in.
Villa have a wealth of options in that department already with Emiliano Buendia, Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey and Jaden Philogene all competing for starting places in the Villa XI, while the likes of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans can play in more advanced roles when needed too.
However, based on speculation suggesting that we’re targeting another attacking option this summer, the expectation is that we’ll dip back into the transfer market to fill the void left behind by Diaby with another marquee signing.
Ultimately, the hope is that we end the window in a stronger position compared to how we started it, and so although it is a disappointment to see Diaby leave after just one season as he may well have been primed to kick on in the upcoming campaign and show his full potential, it’s a massive financial boost for Villa, and one that hopefully allows us to strengthen and improve further in the long run.
