Last summer, several players were frequently linked with Newcastle United in transfer discussions. One standout was Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen, who attracted significant interest from Newcastle but eventually opted to join Aston Villa in a £52 million deal.
In response, Newcastle eventually secured the signature of Harvey Barnes, who was reportedly Eddie Howe’s preferred choice all along.
PIF-owned Al-Ittihad, now showing interest in Moussa Diaby, despite his initially promising tenure at Aston Villa, saw a decline in form. Despite making 54 appearances and contributing 10 goals and nine assists, the 25-year-old did not meet Unai Emery’s expectations. Consequently, Aston Villa is open to offers for Diaby this summer. According to The Shields Gazette, one club eager to make a bid is Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro-League.
Missing out on signing Diaby actually turned out to be a stroke of luck. It’s ironic how things can change, considering he had made a significant impact with 31 goal contributions in 42 games for Leverkusen, initially catching Newcastle’s interest.
Diaby serves as a reminder of those instances where not acquiring a player whom we eagerly anticipated at the club ultimately benefited us.
As we continue to miss out on potential signings this summer, one can’t help but wonder how many more of these blessings in disguise we’ll encounter.
Be the first to comment