Moussa Diaby ‘X-factor’ hailed as Aston Villa finally find what they’ve spent years searching for
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Aston Villa have been searching for years for a player like Moussa Diaby, according to Alan Hutton.
Diaby, 24, joined the Villans for a club-record £51.9million from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and since then, the French attacker has scored two goals and supplied two assists in seven appearances across all competitions.
He’s failed to directly contribute to a goal in just two of his five Premier League matches but unfortunately, he couldn’t help stop Unai Emery’s side from losing to Legia Warsaw on Thursday night (21 September).
Diaby came off the bench to play the final half an hour as Villa lost 3-2 in their opening Conference League group stage match in Warsaw.
However, Hutton is just delighted to see a player of Diaby’s quality join the squad, suggesting that Villa have tried and failed to sign a winger of his magnitude in recent years.
“He’s the X-factor – these are the guys that you need,” Hutton told Villa News.
“When you’re building a team and a squad, it’s always good to have that backbone and stuff. But you also need that bit of magic.
“I think they’ve been searching for it for years if you think about the players they’ve had out wide.
“He’s come in and hit the ground running, which is excellent.”
Despite Diaby’s arrival, Aston Villa’s start to the season has been mixed with Emery’s leaking goals.
Scoring them hasn’t been an issue thanks to the likes of Diaby but the team has now conceded three or more goals in a game on three occasions this term.
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