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‘Superstar’ player was hoping Arsenal would sign him this summer – journalist
Moussa Diaby apparently hoped that Arsenal or Newcastle United would sign him this summer, but he’s now said to be on his way to Aston Villa instead.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has been one of the best players in the Bundesliga for years. He scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists last term and managed 17 goals and 14 assists in the season before.
He is a fantastic player, and David Ornstein revealed on that he’s set to join Aston Villa now. However, Christian Falk has claimed on that he actually hoped for a move to Arsenal or Newcastle.
Aston Villa-bound Moussa Diaby hoped to join Arsenal or Newcastle United
Moussa Diaby has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for over a year now, with Arsenal and Newcastle United both reported to have been interested in him.
The Gunners do need a new right-winger in this window. Bukayo Saka is the undisputed starter in that position, but they don’t really have a like-for-like backup for him apart from the young and inexperienced Marquinhos.
Newcastle, on the other hand, have been keen on a new winger for a while now. They signed Anthony Gordon in January and it looks like Harvey Barnes will come in now.
But, before both of those moves, they were heavily linked with Diaby and even made an enquiry to sign him six months ago.
Diaby is now set to join Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the coming days, but Falk claims he actually ‘hoped’ to sign for either Arsenal or Newcastle in this window.
He wrote: “Moussa Diaby was always dreaming of the Premier League and he dreamed of playing for a Champions League club.
“He hoped for Arsenal, he hoped for Newcastle but both clubs haven’t become concrete until now.
“The negotiations are very close with Aston Villa. We think he won’t play Leverkusen’s upcoming match against Paderborn on Friday so he won’t get injured.
“It’s going very quick now and they don’t think he’ll join the team when they go to the training camp on Sunday. Aston Villa will pay €55m plus €5m (£47.6m+£4.3m) in add-ons.”
TBR View:
Moussa Diaby is a terrific football player, and it’s no surprise to us that Arsenal and Newcastle were previously keen to sign him.
The Frenchman, branded as a player with the potential to become Les Bleus’ next ‘superstar’ by , has been Leverkusen’s standout performer ever since he joined them from PSG.
He can score goals, create chances and can play anywhere across the front three. He is an exceptional player, and we really think he would’ve been a solid signing for both Arsenal and Newcastle.
However, his future now is at Villa Park, and it will be interesting to see how he’ll fare under Emery next season.