Newcastle United are ‘pushing’ to sign Moussa Diaby this summer, but might struggle to complete a deal.
That’s the view of French journalist Julien Laurens, who has spoke about the winger’s future on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast.
The Magpies have been heavily linked with signing the 22-year-old from Bayer Leverkusen. The Northern Echo claimed last month that Newcastle are confident of signing him – as well as Lille’s Sven Botman.
Fast forward and neither player has joined Eddie Howe’s side. The bid for Botman is turning into quite the saga, while talk of a move for Diaby has fallen flat.
Leverkusen reportedly want £60million for the France international, which has put Newcastle off a move for now. Sadly, that’s the price we must pay for a player of his calibre. He got 25 goal contributions last season in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals and providing 12 assists.
Diaby is an incredibly exciting player who Toon fans would love to see at St James’ Park, but Laurens believes Leverkusen have an ace up their sleeve that may prevent a transfer.
European football may stop Moussa Diaby from joining Newcastle
Laurens has spoke about Newcastle’s pursuit of Diaby on the latest episode of the Transfer Talk podcast, admitting that the Magpies are really keen to sign him. However, he suggests a deal could be very tough.
“Leverkusen are building something really interesting right now with Seoane,” Laurens said.
“They have a really good squad. They might lose Patrik Schick, and I think they would want to keep Moussa [Diaby] at the club.
“But Newcastle, for example, are pushing, really pushing. They can offer a lot of money for him. And now that he’s a French international, I think the price has gone up a little bit. I think he wants to be rewarded for the great season he had last season.
“The one thing is, Leverkusen are in the Champions League next season. I think he really likes the idea of playing Champions League football next year, which is obviously not the case for Newcastle. That might push him towards staying, maybe another year like Nkunku, and moving the following summer.”
Toon must push for Diaby
The lure of Champions League football is something Newcastle can’t prevent. It’s not something we can offer right now.
It ruled us out of the race for Darwin Nunez, who has now joined Liverpool for £64million. Getting European football will make us so much more appealing in the transfer market, which is why the owners are so desperate to get there as soon as possible.
Diaby’s heroics helped Leverkusen finish third last season, marking a Champions League return for Die Werkself. You couldn’t blame Diaby if he wanted to stay and the reap the rewards of his efforts.
He would be a game-changing signing for Newcastle. He’s the kind of attacking talent we need this summer.
The Magpies have been linked with some huge names – some that are completely unrealistic or just wouldn’t fit in with what Howe is building.
But Diaby feels different. Newcastle wouldn’t be ‘pushing’ if they knew they had no chance of signing him, and he fits the bill of what we need as a marquee signing this summer.
While we’ve got the funds to bring Diaby to SJP, a lack of Champions League football could sadly be a deal breaker.