Newcastle dealt a fatal blow to Moussa Diaby as the Bayer Leverkusen winger revealed he will return to the Bundesliga club next season
- Newcastle were interested in signing the France international this summer
- Winger has dealt the club a blow to their summer plans by opting to stay
- Magpies had said they would not overpay for the young player in this window
Newcastle was dealt a fatal blow in pursuit of one of their number summer delivery Goals when winger Moussa Diaby declared he will play for Bayer Leverkusen again next season.
The Magpies are known to be chasing a winger this summer, with Diaby emerging as one of the club’s defining targets for such a position Eddie Howe strives to strengthen.
Speaking of German publication RP onlineDiaby ended all speculation about his future with the unmistakable statement that he would play for Bayer Leverkusen next season.
Moussa Diaby has decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for the coming season
He said: “I have made my decision and I will play for Bayer Leverkusen again next season.”
The statement will come as a huge blow to Newcastle, who lost 1-0 to Mainz on Monday afternoon in the final pre-season game of their tour to Austria.
Howe’s side ran out of ideas for much of the game and it has been known for some time that the club are looking to add forward-facing areas to build on a strong finish to the season with significant support from their Saudi funding owners.
The winger was a target for Newcastle but they had to look elsewhere
Diaby, himself a France international who made his debut last year, went on to talk about Bayer Leverkusen’s goals for the season, saying he wants to keep scoring and helping the team achieve their goals next season.
“It is true that I have made great strides in this area. My goals haven’t changed for the coming season,” he said.
“We want to have a top team again with Bayer and I want to help the team as much as possible by continuing to score goals but also provide assists. The goal is to get as far as possible in all competitions.”
Diaby is a France international and is hoping to join his 26-man squad for Qatar in November
The World Cup in Qatar has increasingly become a topic of conversation this summer, with players reluctant to move lest they jeopardize their chances of making their country’s squad for the winter tournament.
Referring to the first World Cup ever held in the Middle East, Diaby said: “I will do everything in my power to continue being part of this group. We have a really impressive team with only top players.”
It’s unclear who Howe and the Newcastle hierarchy will target now, but Leeds’ Jack Harrison remains a possible target for the club.
Leeds recently won a price tag of £35m for the winger.
Jack Harrison remains a target for the club and Leeds have put a £35million asking price on him
