West Ham United are keeping tabs on Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, amid Premier League interest in the winger.
What’s the word?
That is according to 90min, who suggest that Newcastle United and Arsenal are also interested in making a move for the 22-year-old.
Despite this interest from abroad, Leverkusen are reportedly in no rush to sell the French international this summer, with it being suggested that Newcastle would be willing to spend a club record-breaking £50m (which would also be a record-breaking fee for the Irons) on Diaby this summer.
David Moyes’ side will be competing in both the Premier League and Europa Conference League next season, with increasing squad depth being made a priority this transfer window.
Much better option than Fornals
The French winger has been previously dubbed as “lethal” by sport journalist Babatunde Koiki, and Diaby has impressed viewers again this campaign.
The Leverkusen winger has clearly made enough of an impression on Didier Deschamps, having won five caps for his country in his short career so far, with his performances at the Bundesliga side also gaining the attention of a number of Premier League clubs.
His stats for the 2021/22 Bundesliga campaign are exceptional, having scored 13 goals and provided 12 assists in 32 starts this season, as per FBref.
This is significantly better than that of Pablo Fornals, who in the same amount of starts in the Premier League, scored six goals and provided three assists this campaign, according to the same stats provider.
The winger, who is valued at £49.5m by Transfermarkt, has a better shot-creating actions rate averaging 3.39 per 90 minutes, with Fornals only coming in at 2.80.
He is also more reliable at hitting the target in comparison to his potential competition at West Ham, with the 22-year-old having a shot on target accuracy of 50.9% compared to Fornals’ 25.6%, according to the same stats provider.
In terms of a squad depth option, he will be as reliable as they get for Moyes, with Diaby having played 32 out of 34 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen this season, at a rate of 86 minutes per match played according to FBref, suggesting that he will adapt to the rigours of Premier League and Europa Conference League football.
The Frenchman also trumps Fornals on a performance basis, with the Leverkusen winger earning an average WhoScored rating of 7.18 across the season, whilst Fornals’ average for the campaign was 6.75.
If the Bundesliga star can adapt to life in the Premier League, then David Moyes might just have a gem of a player on his hands, to add to an already impressive front-line for next season.
In other news, Frank McAvennie urges West Ham to avoid signing Jesse Lingard…
