Newcastle United may have just been handed a significant boost in their reported interest in Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby.
According to journalist Aaron Stokes, the Toon remain interested in the 22-year-old winger and may take some confidence from the Leverkusen sporting director’s recent comments.
And speaking on the latest Everything is Black & White podcast, Stokes highlighted the possible cause for optimism from Simon Rolfes’ latest comments on the Frenchman.
Rolfes told Sky Germany: “I’m optimistic about Moussa that he will play here again next season. But when clubs with incredibly large financial opportunities bid for such a player, we have to sell a top player at some point.”
It has been widely reported that Eddie Howe’s side are viewing Diaby as a potential target this summer, having seemingly failed to bolster their attack through young striker Hugo Ekitike.
Having recently added an exciting prospect to their defensive line, Stokes shared his thoughts on the comments emerging from Germany on a potential willingness to sell Diaby.
He said: “Newcastle are interested in him, they’re in negotiations with Leverkusen – they have been for a while. The last we heard [was] that the price was just a bit too high.
“But it’s interesting to see that Leverkusen have been playing hardball, but they’ve softened their stance ever so slightly. They’ve just said ‘we’re just going to leave the door slightly more open than it was’. They’ve spent all the start of the summer saying, ‘he’s not for sale, we want to keep our best players’.
“But last week, when Simon Rolfes, the sporting director, came out, he said, ‘we want to keep him, but look, we know that we’re going to have to sell him one day’. And I just thought that’s a big change from [saying] you’re not going to sell him at all.
“Look, I’ve said numerous times on this podcast I would love to see Moussa Diaby [sign]; he’s a fantastic player, he would elevate this team to a completely different level.”
TIF Thoughts on Stokes’ comments…
It certainly feels as if Rolfes has opened the door for the Toon to potentially make their move for Diaby this summer, however, it also seems as if Leverkusen would only be open to big bids.
Should NUFC break the bank for Diaby this summer?
Yes
No
Rolfes has made it clear he expects Diaby to play another season with the Bundesliga outfit, however, his comments certainly suggest they could be open to the idea of selling at the right price.
From a Newcastle point of view, this could provide some optimism, however, it will likely make them question whether to save themselves a potentially record-breaking fee and just wait until next summer.
By then, Diaby will have just two years remaining on his deal, which will presumably bring down his price tag slightly, so this will certainly leave the Toon with a decision to make in the coming weeks.