MX23RW : Saturday, June 1 12:12:49| >> :120:4620:4620:

Arsenal 'make contact over Moussa Diaby move'

Arsenal 'make contact over Moussa Diaby move'
© Reuters
Arsenal reportedly make contact with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for French attacker Moussa Diaby after missing out on Mykhaylo Mudryk.

Arsenal have reportedly made contact with Bayer Leverkusen over a possible move for attacker Moussa Diaby.

The France international has enjoyed another strong campaign for the Bundesliga giants, registering eight goals and four assists in 22 games in all tournaments.

Diaby's exploits in Germany have supposedly attracted interest from the Premier League, and Newcastle United were heavily linked with a move over the summer.

The 23-year-old is under contract at Leverkusen until 2025, though, and the Magpies were quickly priced out of a move, but speculation surrounding his future is hotting up again.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona are all rumoured to be keeping tabs on Diaby's situation, but according to Sky Sports News, Arsenal have now touched base over a move.

Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby pictured in January 2021© Reuters

However, the report adds that Leverkusen are determined to keep hold of the Frenchman in January, and they slapped a €100m (£88.4m) price tag on his head in the summer.

Diaby left Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 to sign for Leverkusen, and the attacker has since registered 43 goals and 41 assists in 146 matches for the German side across all competitions.

The 23-year-old hit double figures in both goals and assists in the 2021-22 Bundesliga season - scoring 13 times and setting up 12 more in 32 games - but he did not make the France squad for the 2022 World Cup.

Arsenal are known to be prioritising the signing of an attacker this month following injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson, the former of whom could be out until after March after undergoing knee surgery.

The Gunners were involved in long-running negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk over a move for Mykhaylo Mudryk, but Chelsea successfully hijacked a move for the 22-year-old last week.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pictured in November 2022© Reuters

Arsenal were willing to pay as much as €100m (£88.4m) to land Mudryk, but Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin has since revealed that Chelsea offered more "realistic and achievable" bonuses than the Gunners.

As a result, Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu are scouring the market for alternatives, and they are believed to have earmarked Barcelona's Raphinha as another potential target.

Arsenal and Chelsea lost out to Barcelona in the race to sign the Brazilian from Leeds United in the summer, and he supposedly has no interest in leaving the Catalan giants this month.

Orlando City winger Facundo Torres has also confirmed that Arsenal have been in talks to sign him from the MLS club, although there is not thought to be anything advanced with the Uruguayan yet.

Arsenal sit eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and are next in action at home to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

ID:504427:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5879:

Click here for more stories about Moussa Diaby

Click here for more stories about Manchester United

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Facundo Torres in action for Orlando SC on October 2, 2022
Read Next:
Facundo Torres confirms Arsenal transfer talks
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!