Newcastle United tried and failed to sign Moussa Diaby this summer, but it doesn’t look like their pursuit is over.
The French winger was a major target for Eddie Howe during the transfer window, as he searched for extra quality out wide.
Diaby certainly would have provided that. However, a deal was never reached. He opted to stay with Bayer Levekusen, while Newcastle seemed unwilling to match the German side’s asking price of £60million.
In the end, the Magpies failed to sign a winger. Instead, they broke the bank to bring in Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad. The Swede has had a bright start to life in England, scoring on his debut away to Liverpool.
But while Isak is playing Premier League football with Newcastle, Diaby is enjoying Champions League nights.
Newcastle scout Diaby during Champions League tie
Bayer Leverkusen are in Group B of this year’s Champions League alongside Club Brugge, Porto and Atletico Madrid. They faced the latter on Tuesday night, and it was an evening to remember for the Bundesliga outfit.
Gerardo Seoane’s side won 2-0, with Moussa Diaby scoring his side’s second goal of the game. And he did it in front of some visitors from the North East.
According to 90min, Newcastle scouts were at the BayArena on Tuesday night. There were also reportedly representatives from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.
They will have been impressed with what they saw from Diaby, who scored his first ever goal in Europe’s top competition.
It’s interesting to see that Toon scouts are still keeping an eye on the 23-year-old. It’s further evidence that the club are willing to revisit targets if they don’t land them at the first time of asking.
That happened a couple of times during the summer transfer window. Newcastle tried to sign Hugo Ekitike after failing in January, and sadly suffered the same fate. However, they did have more joy with Sven Botman who eventually signed for Newcastle after a lengthy pursuit.
It’s been claimed that Howe will make a fresh move for Maddison in January, and perhaps Diaby will also be a target once again. He certainly has the talent to be a hit at St James’ Park, despite missing out during the summer window.
However, news of other clubs watching him will perhaps be cause for concern on Tyneside.