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Aston Villa make contact with £50m Moussa Diaby to rival Champions League clubs
Aston Villa are set to rival Champions League clubs in the race for Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby who is expected to leave the Bundesliga side this summer, according to the Daily Mail.
Villa are keeping tabs on Diaby’s situation and have checked with Leverkusen on their position, with the winger also being linked to Arsenal, Newcastle, and Manchester United this summer, after L’Equipe reported Arsenal were leading the race for his signature.
Leverkusen are set to demand a club record fee of £50million for their star winger, which would eclipse Villa’s current record transfer spend of £38million on Emi Buendia if they were to follow up their interest with a concrete offer.
The France international has scored 49 goals and assisted 48 in 172 games since joining the German side, with nine goals and nine assists in the Bundesliga last season.
Diaby would be a fantastic steal
If Aston Villa can beat their three Premier League rivals to the signing of Diaby, despite the others having Champions League football on offer, it will represent more about Unai Emery’s project than just making a good signing.
Villa have an exciting project going at the moment, having qualified for the Europa Conference League via their seventh-placed finish last season, they are targeting star names, with Villarreal defender Pau Torres set to arrive shortly [Fabrizio Romano, 5 July], while Youri Tielemans signed on a free transfer.
Emery’s side have shown a clear intention to bring in a quick and direct winger this summer, having already been linked with a move for Bilbao star Nico Williams and Barcelona ace Ferran Torres, as well as Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson.
Villa’s targets this summer have all been of a very high standard, with the club looking to aim high and show ambition under the stewardship of Emergy and Director of Football Monchi.
In other Aston Villa news, the club may already have found the next Jacob Ramsey.