Moussa Diaby becomes Bayer Leverkusen’s second most expensive departure | OneFootball

With Moussa Diaby’s (24) imminent transfer to Aston Villa, the Frenchman will become Bayer Leverkusen’s second most expensive departure after Kai Havertz to Chelsea in 2020.

As reported by Kicker, Aston Villa will pay Bayer Leverkusen a €55m figure that can rise to €60m based on performances. It’s a significant return on the €15m that B04 paid to PSG in 2019 to sign Diaby, who leaves the club after four years and 172 games across all competitions, resulting in 49 goals and 48 assists. Bayer Leverkusen won’t receive the full sum though – as reported via our colleagues at Get French Football News, PSG can expect to receive around €7m after they secured a sell-on clause upon his departure from the French club.

It’s a significant coup for Aston Villa, who beat Al-Nassr to the signing of Diaby after the Saudi Arabia club launched another bid to sign the French winger in the eleventh hour. And it’s also not the first time that Villa have looked to Leverkusen to strengthen the wide areas, with the signing of Leon Bailey in 2021 for €32m.

With the departure of Diaby and Mitchel Bakker, it gives Bayer Leverkusen a significant figure to strengthen their squad, despite needing a transfer surplus of between €10m-€20m this summer. With Patrik Schick’s latest setback, Die Werkself have identified Union Saint-Gilloise forward Victor Boniface, who scored 17 and created 12 in 51 games last season for the Belgian club, as a potential replacement for the Czech striker.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder