Aston Villa have confirmed the arrival of Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen, with Unai Emery adding a crucial new dynamic to our attack.
As per the club’s statement, Diaby has now officially joined after weeks of speculation, and has already joined up with his new teammates to begin this new chapter of his career.
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After coming through the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, he showed his openness to making difficult decisions that took him out of his comfort zone for the good of his career by joining Crotone on loan at 19 years of age, and while his breakthrough with the Ligue 1 giants eventually came, he moved on to Leverkusen in 2019.
That is where the French international has excelled and emerged as one of the top attacking talents in Europe, scoring 49 goals and providing 48 assists in 172 appearances for the club.
Primarily deployed as a right-sided winger, he also now addresses a long-term issue for Emery who made no secret of his desire to strengthen in that position back in January.
A whole host of names have been paired with a move to Villa since, but it’s Diaby who has arrived as the solution, and he hopefully proves to be a long-term fix that delivers consistently to make us a more potent attacking force.
His versatility and ability to play across the frontline will make him a useful option too, but with his pace, directness, movement off the ball, composure in the final third to pick out the right pass as well as his clinical edge in front of goal, he ticks a lot of important boxes that will hopefully see him flourish under Emery and gel with the players around him.
Whether it’s a quick give-and-go with Emiliano Buendia to create space and openings in the final third or escaping down the right wing and cutting the ball back for Ollie Watkins in the box, there are clear ways in which his attributes and strengths match well with the characteristics of his new teammates, and they’ll hopefully prove to be effective together.
Naturally, his qualities will make him a real threat on the counter attack as he will lead the way with his pace on and off the ball, but his ability to carry the ball forward with speed, to take players on, make key contributions in front of goal and offer an outlet with his movement will all make him a key figure in the side.
Albeit a diminutive figure, Diaby has shown an ability to use his strengths well that mask those potential weaknesses, although analysis from various outlets would suggest that his defensive work and commitment to that side of the game will have to improve if he wants to fit into Emery’s style and system.
The Villa boss wants to defend from the front and he gets excellent work ethic and pressing from the likes of Watkins and Buendia further up the pitch, and that’s something Diaby will have to buy into and also track back when needed as well to avoid becoming a vulnerability in the team.
Villa though wouldn’t have signed him if Emery had reservations over his attitude or concerns that he might not contribute enough in that phase of the game, and so we’ll surely see that improve as he looks to prove himself and establish his place in the Villa XI.
It’s unclear at this stage as to when we’ll first see him in a Villa shirt, but following on from the acquisitions of Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres, we’re certainly raising the level across the squad and bringing in individuals who significantly improve what we already have.
Diaby though will have to deal with the additional pressure that will come with his big-money move, and it’s hoped he takes his game to the next level under Emery’s guidance with his evident talent and qualities making him an exciting addition to our attack.
