Aston Villa 'preparing' amid renewed interest in £51.9m attacker

Moussa Diaby is the reportedly the subject of renewed interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, 11 months after Aston Villa beat the Riyadh-based team to his signing.

Bought from eventual Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee of £51.9 million, Diaby endured a hot and cold first season in the Premier League. The Frenchman, who was recently snubbed by Didier Deschamps for the UEFA European Championships, scored 10 goals in 54 appearances across all competitions.

The Daily Mail reports Diaby could have a route away from Villa Park this summer as Al-Nassr are considering rearing their heads once again. The Saudi outfit, world-famous through star player Cristiano Ronaldo, are said to be looking to sell former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane and replace him with Diaby.

Although more of a rotation option toward the end of Villa’s historic top-four achieving season, Diaby remains an integral part of Unai Emery’s plans. As a result, Al-Nassr will have to cough up a significant fee if they are to have any chance of acquiring the winger’s services.

Aston Villa could change Moussa Diaby stance

But Villa may be tempted to sell for a profit as Diaby hasn’t quite been the megastar it was dreamed he could be. A number of Emery’s big-name targets could become more attainable, too, if there was a huge cash influx.

It will certainly be a tricky one to weigh up if Al-Nassr do make a bid as expected, especially as Emery is keen to add further depth and quality to his squad ahead of a highly-anticipated campaign in the UEFA Champions League. Villa will be preparing a response in anticipation.