Newcastle’s priority signing after the capture of Sven Botman was believed to be Moussa Diaby but the final nail has been driven into that coffin by the player himself.
Moussa Diaby confirms intent to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
Has been Newcastle's top attacking target for much of the summer…but Bayer have stood firm.
As it stands, he is staying in Germany.https://t.co/sw3JPxDew8
— Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) July 20, 2022
Graeme Bailey has reported for 90min that Moussa Diaby has decided to stay at Leverkusen for the upcoming season which is a bit of a kick in the teeth for the Geordies who really wanted to see this deal happen.
The energetic French winger has talent and pace that would light up the Premier League and Newcastle fans have spent inordinate amounts of time watching Diaby highlight reels on YouTube, but it looks like Newcastle will have to direct their attention elsewhere.
On the positive side, it doesn’t look like another club is going to swoop him and steal him from under the Magpies’ beak, so Newcastle could now have a year to work on Diaby to convince him to join next summer.
Should We Revisit A Deal For Diaby Next Year?
Absolutely
Nope. Move on.
That doesn’t change the fact that we need reinforcements now. The recent friendly against Mainz 05 highlighted just how much we lack creativity up front as the likes of Chris Wood and Callum Wilson were starved for chances. Eddie Howe did his best to calm the fans’ fears by saying the pre-season has been focused on defence and midfield so far and the attacking side will be worked on in the coming weeks, but with the season fast approaching, fans are reverting to the Mike Ashley days of transfer window panic.
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