Fabrizio Romano confirms Aston Villa 'close' to transfer agreement as club grows 'confident'

Moussa Diaby is getting closer to leaving Aston Villa after Fabrizio Romano provided the latest on his proposed move to Al Ittihad.

Al Ittihad confirmed the signing of Houssem Aouar, and now want to wrap the deal done for Diaby. They are becoming 'confident' that they can agree a deal for Villa's club record signing according to Fabrizio Romano.

Negotiations are 'advancing' with both Villa and the players representatives, and an agreement is 'close' according to the transfer specialist. Diaby had been linked with the move to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, but over the last few days things have accelerated quickly.

As to what the deal might look like, well according to Ben Jacobs, the Senior Football Correspondent for Give Me Sport, the overall package for Diaby would need to be €70m+, which at the very least would be £58.7m. Romano said on Tuesday that Villa want more than the initial €55m bid, whilst many have said that the Saudi side would be willing to offer them a 'substantial profit' on the player.

Football Insider meanwhile are willing to go one further than Romano, and are now reporting that Diaby has told Villa that he wants to accept the 'huge offer' that they have on the table for him. They have apparently offered him an 'astronomical' salary to join and he is willing to move to the Saudi League over the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, the most popular league in world football.

The 25-year-old has only been at Villa Park for a year after joining in a club-record deal at around £43m from Bayer Leverkusen. Diaby registered 10 goals and nine assists in 54 appearances in his first campaign in English football, and helped Villa qualify for the Champions League, but he might not be around for that moment.

Villa meanwhile begin their pre-season schedule tonight (July 17) as they host play League Two side Walsall at the Bescot Stadium. Ian Maatsen isn't expected to feature as he is on a break following his involvement at EURO 2024, but Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea, Samuel Iling-Junior and Lewis Dobbin are all expected to play some part.