Everything we know about Moussa Diaby transfer as Aston Villa sent £46m offer
Aston Villa winger Moussa Diaby is open to joining Saudi Pro League Al-Ittihad this summer
Al-Ittihad are in talks to sign Moussa Diaby from Aston Villa this summer, just a year after he joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen.
The Saudi Pro League side want to make the France international a statement signing after rivals Al-Nassr came close to landing him last summer. Despite a lucrative contract offer, Diaby opted to sign for Villa instead and went on to make 54 appearances across all competitions under Unai Emery last season.
Diaby registered 19 goal contributions, scoring 10 goals and assisting nine - he remains an important part of Emery's squad. However, the 24-year-old is open to joining Al-Ittihad and every player has a price tag, especially with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in mind.
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Before the end of June this summer, Villa had to make a certain amount of money and the sale of Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42m put them in the clear regarding PSR. The incoming arrivals of Amadou Onana and Jaden Philogene will take Villa's summer spending to £130m, while they have so far taken in around £70m.
Al-Ittihad's first offer of €55m (£46m) is thought to be too low of a bid to sign Diaby, who joined Villa for around £36m plus add-ons 12 months ago. There is also no total agreement between Diaby and Al-Ittihad yet, but there's optimism from the Saudi club that they can strike deals on the club and player side. If he were to leave Emery's squad, he'd become the second most expensive sale in the club's history.
France legend Laurent Blanc was recently appointed as the Al-Ittihad head coach and Lyon's Houssem Aouar is expected to join imminently. The Saudi side also have Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante in their squad.
The news comes as Jaden Philogene is set to return to Villa Park less than 12 months after leaving for Hull City. Villa agreed various clauses with Hull in that £5m deal, including a 'matching rights' option, allowing Villa a three-day window to match a fee which Hull had agreed for the player from another club, plus a 30 per cent sell-on clause.
Ipswich Town had an £18m bid for Philogene accepted last week and Villa chose to match the bid, leaving the decision up to him. Instead of joining newly-promoted Ipswich, he opted to return to Villa, who are essentially paying around £13m for him after the 30 per cent sell-on clause comes into play.
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