Villa pip Saudi suitors to clinch Diaby deal

Aston Villa have beaten Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr to the signing of Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.

Al-Nassr — who brought in Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United last January — had hoped to make the French winger their latest coup but have been left disappointed after the 24-year-old chose a move to the Premier League.

On the exciting transfer, Villa boss Unai Emery said: "For us, Diaby is a player that we were following and he is helping us try to improve our level playing in the attacking third.

"Sometimes he plays right, sometimes he plays as a No10, sometimes as a left winger.

"We are very excited and we are very happy with him. We need to build our structure again and Moussa is giving us another step.

"He is a winger or striker and his best power is his capacity to attack, dribble and run in behind and he has experience in Europe. 

"He is young, I think the qualities he is going to give us and playing in different positions is going to give us more power."

Last term, Diaby played out a particularly eye-catching Bundesliga campaign, registering nine goals and eight assists under the guidance of Xabi Alonso.

He marks another excellent addition for Emery, who looks keen to make a splash in next season's Europa Conference League.

Diaby joins Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans and Spanish centre-back Pau Torres as the Villa manager's new recruits and has already met up with the squad as they continue their pre-season preparations in the United States.

The Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate developed at a rapid pace in the Bundesliga over the last four seasons, tallying 69 goal contributions in just 125 appearances.

He played a vital role in the German outfit's Europa League campaign last term, where they were marginally beaten by Jose Mourinho's Roma in the semi-finals.

It is a big coup for the Villans — who will be aiming to carry their superb end to the 2022-23 Premier League campaign into next season.