Newcastle United ready record-breaking offer for Moussa Diaby

Newcastle United are gearing up to break their transfer record in order to sign French winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.

The Magpies are keen to upgrade their attacking options in wide areas and have been doing their homework on a number of names, with Diaby a player they have had on their radar for much of this year.

90min has learned that Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Everton’s Anthony Gordon are also of significant interest to the club, but Diaby has emerged as Newcastle’s top target.

Sources have confirmed that Newcastle have already done considerable scouting work on Diaby, and intermediaries from both sides have been talking about a possible transfer.

Bayer Leverkusen have stated publicly that they do not want to lose Diaby, but it is believed an offer in excess of £40m could convince them to sell this summer.

Diaby joined Bayer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 for a fee of just £12m, and he has been a huge success in the Bundesliga. The 22-year-old scored 13 goals and contributed 12 assists in 32 league games last season – form that has seen him become an important part of Didier Deschamps’ France squad.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has already secured the signings of Matt Targett, Nick Pope and Sven Botman, but the club are far from finished in this summer window. Indeed, as well as signing a new winger, there’s hope of bringing in a centre forward and midfielder before the 2022/23 campaign begins.