Both Newcastle United and Arsenal have been dealt a blow as Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby has confirmed his decision to remain in Germany this summer despite Premier League interest.
The 23-year-old was in impressive form for Leverkusen last campaign, with 13 goals and 12 assists in 32 Bundesliga games, as well as a further 4 goals and 2 assists in 8 Europa League outings.
Leverkusen’s French forward Moussa Diaby celebrates scoring the opening goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayer 04 Leverkusen v BVB Borussia Dortmund (Photo by MARTIN MEISSNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
And, the forward has been heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park, with Newcastle United looking to bolster their frontline as they look to invest significant funds into their squad following the PIF takeover of the club in 2021.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were another side credited with an interest, even more so following their failure to complete a deal for Leeds United winger Raphinha, who eventually joined Barcelona.
Now, however, it has emerged that both sides will be forced to look elsewhere, with Diaby confirming that he will be remaining in Germany next season.
“I’ve made my decision and I’ll be playing for Bayer Leverkusen again next season”, the Frenchman told outlet RP online.
Moussa Diaby says he’ll remain at Leverkusen next season.
He tells RP Online: “I’ve made my decision and I’ll be playing for Bayer Leverkusen again next season.”
Newcastle did explore signing Diaby but never prepared to overpay.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 19, 2022
Such news will force both Newcastle and the Gunners to look elsewhere for forward reinforcements, and with just 3 weeks until the beginning of yet another Premier League season, they will have to do so quickly.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | d | p |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Arsenal FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Brentford FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Chelsea FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Fulham FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Liverpool FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Southampton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 23 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 15 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 12 |
| Toney, Ivano | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyadh | Manchester City | 11 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 11 |
| Xhaka, Granite | Arsenal FC | 1 | 10 |
| Tarkowski, Jameso | Burnley FC | 0 | 11 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 10 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Reuben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 9 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 9 |
| McTominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Toney, Ivano | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paulo | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| player | Team | assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 11 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 9 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paulo | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Mikhail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |