Aston Villa are reportedly closing in on an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen for Moussa Diaby, but Al-Nassr’s interest could yet scupper our hopes of a deal.
Speculation of our pursuit of the 24-year-old has gathered pace this past week, with no significant breakthrough as such being reported between the two clubs.
As per Bild earlier this week, Villa increased our offer to the Bundesliga outfit to try and convince them to green light an exit, while it was added that Diaby is keen on the move to join us.
The French international scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 48 appearances last season as he continues to impress in Germany, but time will tell where the next chapter of his career takes him.
According to RMC Sport’s Fabrice Hawkins, Villa and Leverkusen have now almost agreed on a transfer for a €50m fee which includes add-ons, and we’re said to be keen to wrap up the move as quickly as possible given the squad have now travelled to the USA for our pre-season tour.
However, a significant issue remains. It’s added that Al-Nassr are preparing a second offer of their own and if that is accepted by Leverkusen, it ultimately comes down to Diaby’s preference on whether a move to join us or perhaps a more lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia is the more desirable option.
Further, should the offer surpass ours, that could make the entire situation even more problematic.
Given our apparent desire to land his signature as he has seemingly emerged as a top target for Unai Emery, it’s hoped that we do bring in his preferred option to strengthen our attacking options to help make us a more potent side.
With his pace, directness, creativity and goalscoring ability, it’s clear that he would add a new dynamic and top competition in the final third, and more is needed in that area of the squad as we look to compete on multiple fronts.
That said, if Diaby is swayed by the offer from Al-Nassr, it’s vital that Villa move on quickly to an alternative option to ensure that we address that position with a new signing to give Emery another key solution.
With the report above suggesting that Villa are pushing for a conclusion, it’s hoped that whichever way it goes, we get an answer on the situation sooner rather than later so we can either wrap up the deal or focus our attention elsewhere.