Newcastle United tried and failed to sign Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, and the Frenchman is proving once again why the Magpies want to bring him to St James’ Park.
After grabbing 25 goals and assists last season, Diaby was a top target last summer. There was even confidence that a deal could be done to sign him.
However, the winger proved to be too expensive, with Leverkusen standing firm on their £60million asking price. Newcastle were forced to walk away, despite the 23-year-old being described as the club’s ‘dream signing‘.
He continued to be linked with a transfer to Newcastle heading in to January, and a fresh report from the Daily Mail stated that Toon officials did launch a fresh inquiry.
But once again a move failed to come to fruition, and the Magpies brought in Anthony Gordon instead.
The club are already making plans for the summer transfer window, and the new ownership have proved that they are willing to revisit former targets if they believe they would be a good fit for Eddie Howe’s squad.
So could that be the case with Diaby? He is having another excellent season, and his latest strike shows what he would bring to Tyneside.
Newcastle target Moussa Diaby’s latest goal is glorious
He scored in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-2 Europa League defeat to Monaco on Thursday. It was a disappointing night for Xabi Alonso’s side, but Diaby will have been delighted with his goal.
He latched onto Florian Wirtz’s flick on, then immediately gave the ball back to the German as he drove at the Monaco defence.
Meanwhile, Diaby darted through the middle and into a goalscoring position. He then checked his run and glanced into space after Wirtz found Jeremie Frimpong out wide.
The defender then picked out Diaby in the box, who showed incredible skill, balance and precision to go past a defender before nutmegging the goalkeeper.
It was a glorious goal by Diaby, as he showcased the skills that would make him a star at St James’ Park. His movement was incredibly intelligent, then he showed real composure to find the net.
That was his 10th goal of the season in all competitions, equalling the amount Newcastle’s top scorer Miguel Almiron has. Diaby has also provided five assists, meaning he has 15 goal contributions in total.
After a slow start to the season, he is flying once again in Germany, and proving why Newcastle should make a fresh attempt to sign him this summer – especially if we qualify for the Champions League.