Bayer Leverkusen interested in bringing Moussa Diaby back to the Bundesliga | OneFootball

Kicker reports that Bayer Leverkusen are working to bring French winger Moussa Diaby back to the Bundesliga. The 27-year-old last featured for die Werkself in the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign. Diaby contested 125 German top flight fixtures over the course of four seasons spent playing for Germany’s red company team. He netted 31 Bundesliga goals.

Sold to Aston Villa for €55m in the summer of 2023, Diaby eventually moved to Saudi outfit Al-Ittihad one year later. The 11-times-capped French international’s estimated market value has fallen substantially from its peak of €60m in December of 2023, but he is still considered a €25m-valued player.

Kicker reports that concrete talks with the Saudi club have taken place, but that Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan are also interested in bringing Diaby back to Europe. Leverkusen apparently consider the player who once featured for them to be the perfect complement to summer signing Afonso Moreira, who will work on the left flank. 

What would Moussa Diaby bring back to Leverkusen?

Diaby first arrived in German football from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019 as a highly promising, but still relatively raw, attacking talent. His acceleration immediately rendered him one of the Bundesliga’s most difficult players to contain in open space. The Frenchman generally worked as a left-footed winger on either flank, attacking the outside lane from the left or cutting inward toward goal from the right.

Under Peter Bosz, Diaby formed part of an exceptionally fast attacking corps alongside Leon Bailey. Leverkusen’s creative midfielders were tasked with controlling possession and releasing the two wide players into space. Diaby’s ability to glide past several opponents, reach the baseline and deliver cutbacks made him particularly dangerous whenever Bayer could break through an opponent’s first pressing line.

There were nevertheless fluctuations in form during his early years. Diaby occasionally struggled with his final ball, finishing and decision-making against opponents who defended deep. His game steadily became more complete, however, and he eventually developed from a transition specialist into a winger capable of creating against more compact defensive structures.

The 2021/22 campaign represented his most productive Bundesliga season. Diaby scored 13 league goals and supplied 12 assists in 32 appearances. His work alongside Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick helped produce one of the German top flight’s most dangerous attacking trios. Wirtz supplied the imagination between the lines, Schick occupied the opposing centre-backs and Diaby repeatedly attacked the spaces opened on either side of the Czech striker.

Diaby’s pace always remained his defining attribute. He was clocked at 36.52 kilometres per hour during the 2022/23 season, the fourth-fastest speed recorded in the Bundesliga that year. The measurement also placed him tenth on the league’s all-time speed chart at one stage. His ability to carry the ball at close to full sprint distinguished him from players whose pace primarily showed up in runs without possession.

Diaby also evolved under Xabi Alonso

Diaby experienced a difficult start to his final Leverkusen season as the entire team struggled under Gerardo Seoane. His role changed following Xabi Alonso’s appointment in October 2022. Alonso frequently used him as one of the two narrow attackers behind a central striker, allowing Diaby to begin closer to goal rather than remaining fixed to the touchline.

The system also enabled Diaby to combine more regularly with Jeremie Frimpong on the right. Frimpong could hold the width while Diaby moved into the half-space, or Diaby could pull outside and create room for the Dutch wing-back to attack centrally. Florian Wirtz’s return from injury added another player capable of finding Diaby’s runs and helped Leverkusen recover from their poor start.

Bayer ultimately reached the 2022/23 Europa League semi-finals and put together an extended unbeaten run during the second half of the campaign. Diaby remained central to the team’s counterattacking threat, but also demonstrated that he could function within Alonso’s more patient possession structures. He departed after producing 49 goals and 48 assists across 173 competitive appearances for the club.

A return would therefore involve considerably less tactical uncertainty than a conventional transfer. Diaby understands the Bundesliga, the pressures surrounding Leverkusen and the demands of playing for a club expected to qualify for Europe. He can operate on both wings, behind a striker or as part of a fluid front line.

Moreira’s projected use on the left suggests that Leverkusen primarily view Diaby as a right-sided attacker. From that position, the Frenchman could cut onto his stronger left foot, attack the penalty area and provide the direct running that remains difficult to manufacture through possession alone. His versatility would nevertheless permit Leverkusen to switch flanks during matches or use both players together in transition-heavy fixtures.

The financial structure may prove decisive. Diaby’s market value has declined since his first Leverkusen spell, but his salary and Al-Ittihad’s demands could still render a permanent transfer difficult. Competition from Benfica and Inter also gives the Saudi club alternatives. For Leverkusen, the attraction is nevertheless clear: Diaby would not merely represent a familiar name, but a proven Bundesliga attacker whose defining qualities still address a specific squad need.

GGFN | Peter Weis