Arsenal, Newcastle target ‘says yes’ to Aston Villa after Emery’s side ‘reach €60m’ to seal major transfer | OneFootball

Moussa Diaby has been linked with a move away from the Bundesliga.

According to reports, Bayer Leverkusen attacker Moussa Diaby has ‘said yes’ to Aston Villa ahead of his proposed move to the Premier League club.

Diaby was linked with Arsenal and Newcastle United in recent weeks but Aston Villa have since emerged as his most likely destination out of clubs in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old Frenchman grabbed nine goals and eight assists in his 33 Bundesliga outings last season and he would be a superb signing for several Premier League sides.

Aston Villa have already signed Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans this summer and Spanish outlet Nacional claimed on Thursday that they have ‘reached’ a €60m deal to sign him from the Bundesliga outfit and are now ‘very close to finalising’ the transfer.

A spanner was thrown into the works on Friday afternoon, though. CBS Sports reporter James Benge revealed that “Al Nassr and Bayer Leverkusen have agreed a deal in principle for Diaby worth an initial €43m with further add-ons”.

He added: Dialogue is ongoing over exact payment terms and structure but not expected to be a problem. Al Nassr also in talks with Sadio Mane. Bayern are looking for the money to push ahead with their Harry Kane pursuit and the Saudi club see an opportunity to sign yet another big name.”

Yet Aston Villa‘s hopes of signing Diaby were boosted not long after by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who has given his move to the Premier League team the “here we go” treatment.

He tweeted: “Diaby to Aston Villa, here we go! French winger has just said yes to Villa, he wants to join Unai Emery’s project — PL football as priority.

“Villa will pay fee in excess of €50m to Leverkusen for Diaby. He picked Villa over huge bid from Al Nassr.”

This revelation came after French football expert confirmed that Diaby is “Villa’s first choice” ahead of Rennes star Jeremy Doku.

“My understanding of the situation is that Diaby is very much Villa’s first choice out the two, and Doku is more of an alternative option,” Johnson told Caught Offside.

“Diaby is one of the key transfer targets that Unai Emery has had for a number of weeks, though my understanding is we can expect a bid from Al Nassr as well.

“But from what I’m hearing the player has made up his mind that he wants to test himself in the Premier League and would be open to joining Villa.”