---

July 17, 2024

Al-Ittihad is pressing to sign an Aston Villa star for £130,000 weekly – Saudi Pro League

Moussa Diaby, the wide player for Aston Villa, is getting closer to joining Al-Ittihad now that the Saudi Pro League has advanced negotiations for a deal.

The Frenchman is reportedly tempted to travel to the Middle East even though the Villans offer Champions League action.

Diaby’s salary package, which he is expected to receive should he choose to switch from Villa Park to Al-Ittihad, has already been disclosed to him.

Al-Ittihad and Aston Villa are in advanced negotiations for Moussa Diaby’s signing, and the team believes a deal can be reached with caution.

Last summer, the Frenchman only paid £34.6 million in addition to add-ons to join the Villans from Bayer Leverkusen. Later, he appeared in 54 games across all competitions, contributing nine assists and ten goals.

Although the 25-year-old is enticed to move to Jeddah despite the possibility of playing Champions League football at Villa Park this season. Villa’s initial course of action is not to sell Diaby.

Villains Have Identified Diaby’s Asking Price

Al-Ittihad is not giving up even after its first offer was rejected.

For Diaby, Villa will entertain bids exceeding £60 million and may even wait to accept offers closer to £70 million. Ittihad has already had a formal offer of slightly over £45 million rejected, but talks have gone on verbally. The Saudi Pro League team was discouraged after a new round of negotiations last week, even though they still felt a deal was complicated.

Ittihad has already made a second verbal bid more in line with the Villans’ valuation. However, they still feel that £70m is too much, considering it equals the amount Al-Hilal paid for Neymar last summer. Discussions about the deal’s structure are currently in progress.

It’s understood that Villa wants highly preferable payment terms. However, the installment timescale is less critical if the Ministry of Sport provides a bank-approved letter allowing clubs to borrow the full fee upfront from a UK lender. A healthy fee for Diaby would allow head coach Unai Emery to move freely in the market and secure a significant profit after just 12 months.

Nonetheless, the Spanish tactician still views Diaby as part of his plans, so a departure will only be sanctioned if the money is too good to turn down.

How Moussa Diaby’s 2023–24 Premier League stats stack up against those of his Aston Villa teammates

	Output	Squad rank
Assists	8	3rd
Goals	6	=4th
Shots per game	1.4	=4th
Key passes per game	1.2	=4th
Dribbles per game	0.8	5th

Diaby is headed toward a lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia

Winger is aware of the offered personal terms.

Ittihad has offered Diaby a signing-on bonus of approximately €2 million in addition to nearly €15 million per season. Al-Nassr made him a similar offer before he joined Villa, but he opted to move to Villa Park.

Central dealmakers and Ittihad consider the winger a top target. In this window, Saudi officials hope to focus on younger players.

Loay Mashabi took over as president of Ittihad following Loay Nazer’s resignation. That said, club CEO Domingos Soares De Oliveira and sporting director Ramon Planes are leading the interest in Diaby, which predates board turmoil.

The 2022–23 Saudi Pro League winners will have a busy summer as they try to catch up to Al-Hilal, the previous season’s winners, who finished 42 points behind in fifth place. Karim Benzema is willing to stick with the team despite a challenging first season. Still, he needs assurances that important new players will arrive.

Houssem Aouar, an Algerian midfielder, has already joined Roma. Ittihad also had their first offer turned down for Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Although the Spaniard is eager to return to Madrid, Ittihad is still hoping he will change his mind. 

Stand by your favorite team! Head to our site and let them know you’re with them all the way.

Footballnewstoday | La Liga 2 | Saudi Pro League | Major League Soccer | J League | EFL Championship | Brazilian Serie A