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Moussa Diaby to start as Sky Sports journalist shares what he's seen of new Aston Villa ace
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Moussa Diaby would make a “perfect” second striker alongside Ollie Watkins as he adds a different dimension to Aston Villa’s attack, according to Dan Bardell.
Following his £51.9million move from Bayer Leverkusen, Diaby had an excellent pre-season with Aston Villa and showed his goalscoring ability by netting against both Fulham and Brentford over the summer.
The Frenchman’s directness, skill on the ball and “dynamism” make him a great signing for Villa and he has been tipped to score many goals at Villa Park in his Premier League debut season.
Last season Ollie Watkins was Villa’s only out-and-out attacking option, but with the addition of Diaby, Bardell claims that the pair could form an ideal partnership up top.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I think Diaby will add a different dimension to the Villa team. He will add a bit more directness and more pace in terms of how impressive he is when he carries the ball.
“I think it’s fair to say that since Villa got promoted back to the Premier League, every year they’ve bought an attacking wide player and it’s always been a standard above the year before.
“From what I’ve seen on Diaby, he’s a level up from Leon Bailey. He’s played for France and I feel like he’s had more of a sustained run of form at Leverkusen.
“In terms of how Emery plays football, with Diaby up top alongside Ollie Watkins, I think that’s the making of a really nice partnership. It’s very fluid with the way Emery sets up and I think personally Diaby is perfect as that second striker.
“He’s shown he’s got an eye for goal already; he can go both sides and when taking a man on. He’s pretty adept with his right foot as well. I think he’ll have that extra dynamism to the Villa attack and give them something different.
“Villa has lacked pace, maybe, since their return to the Premier League. Diaby definitely gives them that.”
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