Aston Villa reach second £50m transfer agreement for player linked with Newcastle United

The 25-year-old only joined Unai Emery’s side from Bayern Leverkusen one year ago, however Villa have decided to cash in on their club-record signing already.

Diaby is set to join Al-Ittihad for a reported £50million. As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, he has agreed personal terms on a five-year contract and is expected to undergo a medical this week.

The funds has helped Villa bring in Amadou Onana from Everton for £50million.

Newcastle United were big admirers of Diaby during his Leverkusen days, where he scored 49 goals and provided 48 assists in 172 appearances.

After the way he started the 2023-24 campaign at Villa, there was a feeling that the Magpies had missed out on a top player. Diaby scored on his debut in a 6-1 loss at St James’ Park and stood out in the matches after before losing his place to Leon Bailey.

He ended the season with 10 goals and nine assists in all competitions as Emery’s men finished fourth in the Premier League table to secure for Champions League football.

Ali Ittihad are among the Saudi clubs majority owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, who own 85% of Newcastle.

Diaby will become teammates with star names such as Karim Benzema, Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and Houssem Aouar. Al Ittihad recently appointed former France and Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc.

Newcastle sold Allan Saint-Maximin to Al Ahli last summer for a significantly lesser fee than Diaby.

The 27-year-old made 31 appearances last term, including four goals and 10 assists. He has returned to the Europe for the upcoming season having joined Fenerbahce on a season-long loan deal.