Aston Villa want £60million to sell Moussa Diaby to Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad, talkSPORT understands.
The two teams are in advanced talks and Diaby is pushing for the move.
Diaby only moved to Villa Park last summer in a record deal from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial fee of £43m.
But the France international is keen on making the switch to Saudi Arabia, where he would play alongside compatriots Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
talkSPORT’s Saudi correspondent Ben Jacobs understands that Saudi giants Al Ittihad are cautiously optimistic that a deal can be clinched with Villa.
That is despite the Midlands outfit initially not looking to part ways ways with the explosive winger.
Diaby played 54 games for Villa in his debut season at the club – featuring in 38 Premier League matches.
He scored ten times in all competitions with six coming in the English top-flight, where he was a crucial part of Unai Emery’s attack.
The 25-year-old helped Villa finish fourth in the table to help them secure a return to the Champions League for the first time since 1983.
But Diaby may not be part of their European Cup campaign, where he could swap Europe for the Middle East to play next to Benzema up top.
The Real Madrid legend had a difficult first year at the King Abdullah Sports City after becoming one of the biggest signings of the summer to the Saudi Pro League last year.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner clashed with coach Marcelo Gallardo and was dropped from the squad for several matches before missing the end of the campaign with a muscle injury.
After finishing fifth, Gallardo was sacked and replaced with Laurent Blanc to appease Benzema.
As well as the 36-year-old, Al Ittihad made several high-profile transfers including Kante, Fabinho and Jota.
But a fee of £60m would see the club break their transfer record to sign Diaby.
Al Ittihad are also interested in Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, but an initial move was knocked back by the Blues.
News Summary:
- Aston Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby in talks to make switch to Saudi Arabia just a year after joining
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