Aston Villa hopeful of sealing club-record transfer for £50m-rated Bayer Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby – after Unai Emery zeroed in on Bundesliga star

Aston Villa are increasingly hopeful of sealing a club record deal for Bayer Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby.

The France international is valued at close to £50million by the Bundesliga club, which would comfortably break Villa’s transfer record – the £40m paid to Norwich for Emiliano Buendia two years ago.

Villa and Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr both wanted Diaby, who was keen for his future to be resolved before Leverkusen depart for their pre-season training camp in Austria on Sunday.

Mail Sport first revealed last weekend that Villa had made Diaby, 24, their top target for the wide attacking role. 

His versatility across the front line is one of the main qualities that appealed to Villa boss Unai Emery.

Moussa Diaby racked up 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for Leverkusen last season

Unai Emery has been impressed by Diaby’s ability to play in any of the attacking positions

Diaby will compete with Leon Bailey, who also joined from Leverkusen, for a starting spot

Villa originally looked at Diaby two years ago, when they were attempting to restructure their attack following Jack Grealish’s £100m move to Manchester City, but he was deemed too expensive at the time. Emery knows the player from his time at Paris St Germain. 

Emery managed the Ligue 1 champions from 2016-2018, when Diaby was progressing through the ranks.

He joined Bayer from PSG in 2019 and produced 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions last season. 

Diaby was under contract for two more years and Leverkusen wanted to keep him, though Diaby was thought to be attracted by the idea of joining a Premier League club.

His goal has always been to play Champions League football but with Emery backed by billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Villa believe they can get there in the coming seasons, and time is on the side of Diaby, who turned 24 earlier in July.