Newcastle United were 12th in the Premier League for goals this season, so Eddie Howe is looking to bring more attacking threat to his side ahead of a top-six push in 2022/23. One player their radar is Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby who has 17 goals with 14 assists from 42 games.
The 22-year-old, who has represented France on five occasions, joined Leverkusen from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 and has gone on to make 124 appearances in all competitions, scoring 35 goals with 37 assists. He cost Leverkusen £13.5m three years ago but is now worth £63m.
Diaby operates in the same position as Miguel Almiron and poses a significant threat compared to the 28-year-old, so Scott Wilson of the Northern Echo says Howe might be open to selling the latter if the former is signed. Almiron has scored just one goal in 32 games this season and has yet to register an assist, so he’s the most expendable from the squad.
Wilson says Napoli and Fulham are interested too, so the Magpies could make some money to go towards Diaby’s signing. It’s exactly the type of upgrade Howe needs to be pulling off to boost Newcastle’s hopes of getting into Europe next season.
In other news, Eddie Howe is right to place Matt Ritchie on transfer list
