Aston Villa are reportedly preparing a new offer for Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby after seeing a £30 million bid rejected by the Bundesliga outfit.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa are planning to submit an improved offer to Bayer Leverkusen for Moussa Diaby after the Villans’ opening £30 million plus add-ons bid was swiftly rejected.
Negotiations between the two clubs are continuing as they try to reach an agreement on a transfer fee after the French attacker already gave the go-ahead to the idea of joining the Midlands club. Villa boss Unai Emery hopes to bolster his squad as he prepares to juggle Premier League and UEFA Europa Conference League football this summer.
Following the high-profile captures of Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans, speculation has increased in recent days in regard to Aston Villa’s search for attacking reinforcements, with a string of names being linked with a move to Villa Park.
After early summer transfer target Marco Asensio opted to join PSG and Nico Williams agreed to sign a new deal at Athletic Club, Diaby has seemingly emerged as the club’s top target to address that area of the squad.
Aston Villa will bid again for Diaby. The plan is clear. 🟣🔵⤵️ #AVFC https://t.co/Xnb1nmUNc0
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 14, 2023
The 24-year-old continued to impress last season at BayArena, where he has now racked up 49 goals and provided 48 assists in 172 appearances for Die Werkself since joining them from PSG in 2019. Meanwhile, he contributed to 25 goals in the 2022/23 campaign.
The French international has two years remaining on his current contract, which means that Bayer Leverkusen are not under immediate pressure to sell him. But, given the fact that he has reached a verbal agreement over personal terms with Aston Villa, a Premier League move could be in the best interests of all parties.
The Bundesliga outfit value the player at around £50 million and have wasted little time in rejecting Villa’s low-ball opening bid. Just like they did in the case of Pau Torres, Aston Villa are expected to make another approach for the player but will look to drive a hard bargain.
Make no mistake about it: if they can get this deal over the line, this would be a huge statement of intent from Villa’s ambitious owners. Recently linked to giants like Arsenal and Real Madrid, Diaby has been one of the Bundesliga’s top performers in recent years and has improved further under Xabi Alonso, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists across all competitions last term.
A devastating dribbler and almost unstoppable in transition, Diaby is a player ready to take the Premier League by storm. With his pace, creativity, eye for goal, and versatility to play across the pitch in attack, he could prove to be an excellent addition to the Villa squad, especially given Philippe Coutinho’s injury problems last season. Only time will tell whether Villa’s second bid proves enough to seal the deal, this one appears to be inching closer and closer.