Newcastle United’s summer window was a positive one but it did see them miss out on their top target.
That was, of course, Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby, who the Magpies chased all summer but could not agree a fee with the Bundesliga club as the two clubs were too far apart in their valuations of the French star.
Leverkusen were reportedly demanding £55m for the winger, as they were in no rush to get rid of a player whose contract expires in the summer of 2025.
Arsenal were also looking to tempt Diaby to the Emirates Stadium in their pursuit of a new winger but ran into the same problems as Newcastle.
In the end, both clubs failed to address their issues with regard to the wide position and could now chase Diaby again during one of the next two windows. Newcastle spent big during the last January window and they might be able to do that again this time around.
Journalist Dean Jones has been speaking about Newcastle’s pursuit of Diaby and has said that the groundwork put in by the Magpies in the summer will leave them confident of winning the race.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “There will undoubtedly be competition for Diaby, he is brilliant. Newcastle have put in the hard yards already though so they will hope that if they want to pick up again on that transfer, they would be ahead of anyone else.”
Time will only tell if Newcastle get their man but they will certainly have to put their hands in their pockets in order to make that happen.