Aston Villa are demanding £60 million to sell Moussa Diaby to Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad, The Pitch Prospect has learned.
The two teams are in advanced talks and Diaby is pushing for the move.
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Diaby only moved to Villa Park last summer in a record contract from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial fee of £43 million.
But the French international is keen to move to Saudi Arabia, where he would play alongside fellow countrymen Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
Ben Jacobs, The Pitch Prospect’s Saudi correspondent, understands that Saudi giants Al Ittihad are cautiously optimistic that a deal with Villa can be done.
And this despite the fact that the team from the Midlands initially had no intention of parting ways with the explosive winger.
Diaby played 54 games in his first season for Villa and appeared in 38 Premier League matches.
He scored ten goals in all competitions, six of them in the English top flight, where he was a crucial part of Unai Emery’s attack.
The 25-year-old helped Villa to fourth place in the table and secured the team’s return to the Champions League for the first time since 1983.
But Diaby may not be part of the club’s European campaign and could instead move from Europe to the Middle East to play up front alongside Benzema.
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The Real Madrid legend has had a difficult first year at the King Abdullah Sports City after becoming one of the biggest signings of the summer in the Saudi Pro League last year.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner clashed with coach Marcelo Gallardo and was left out of the squad for several games before missing the end of the season with a muscle injury.
After finishing fifth, Gallardo was sacked and replaced by Laurent Blanc to appease Benzema.
In addition to the 36-year-old, Al Ittihad has made several high-profile transfers, including Kante, Fabinho and Jota.
But with a transfer fee of £60 million, the club would break its previous transfer record to sign Diaby.
Al Ittihad is also interested in Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, but an initial attempt was rejected by the Blues.