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Aston Villa transfer news as first bid ready for Moussa Diaby
Aston Villa are set to table an opening bid for Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby after the club had checked on his availability last week, according to the Daily Mail.
Villa made checks as to the winger’s availability, as was reported on Saturday [8 July], and it appears the club have been given the green light by Leverkusen as they will soon formalise their interest by making a bid for £50million-rated Diaby.
Diaby has gathered interest from across Europe this summer, with Arsenal and Manchester United among the interested clubs, but Villa have shown they can beat these top clubs to sign big-name players after a deal was agreed for Pau Torres [Fabrizio Romano, 3 July].
It is also reported that any deal for Diaby could see Leon Bailey move the other way after the Jamaican has been tipped to leave Villa this season to play in the Champions League after the Villans signed him from Leverkusen in 2021.
This would be another step towards Villa becoming competitive
Aston Villa have looked to build upon their seventh-placed finish and Europa Conference League qualification this summer by targeting, and landing, some very ambitious transfer targets, as the club looks to push further up the League table.
The arrival of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer, followed by the imminent signing of Torres, has shown that Villa will compete with Champions League clubs and beat them to sign some top players.
Diaby is a rapid and direct winger, something Villa have targeted this summer after links to Nico Williams, Ferran Torres and Harvey Barnes, this being a profile they are currently missing at the club.
Whether Villa can match the £50million asking price is yet to be seen, but with Unai Emery and Monchi playing big parts in the recruitment process this summer, it isn’t too far-fetched to suggest they will be able to negotiate his price down as they did with Torres, for whom the club will pay “nowhere near” the initial asking price.
In other Aston Villa news, the club may have already found their next Jacob Ramsey.