Newcastle United's move for Moussa Diaby may be about to advance, The Daily Mail's Craig Hope says

The lowdown

Hope reports that Bayer Leverkusen winger Diaby 'has been on Newcastle's radar since January'.

Manager Eddie Howe is intent on adding a winger to his ranks during the summer transfer window.

Diaby, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain, is under contract with the Werkself until June 2025 and is valued at a whopping £49.5million by Transfermarkt.

For reference, Newcastle's transfer record currently stands at £39.6million - the fee they paid Hoffenheim for Joelinton in 2019.

The latest

After striker Patrick Schick committed to Leverkusen by signing a new contract and Adam Hlozek joined from Sparta Prague on Thursday, Hope told NUFC fans that they 'might see movement on Diaby' soon.

He added that Brennan Johnson, recently promoted with Nottingham Forest, has 'also [been] watched'.

Newcastle scouts were in attendance at Wembley as Johnson's Forest beat Huddersfield Town in the Championship playoff final last weekend 1-0 to claim a place in the Premier League.

The verdict

Newcastle fans should be excited if a move for Diaby is indeed in the offing.

According to FBRef, Diaby is similar in profile to the likes of Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden.

He possesses a 'supernatural, divine gift' (in the words of the president of his first club) and journalist Ronan Murphy says he's 'the player they thought they might be getting from Joelinton'.

His return of 17 goals and 14 assists in all competitions last season was simply outstanding, with the Frenchman averaging a direct contribution every 115 minutes.

Only Robert Lewandowki (38), Christopher Nkunku (33), Erling Haaland (29), Schick (27) and Thomas Muller (26) were involved in more Bundesliga goals in 2021/22.

In other news, read this big goalkeeper claim from a European newspaper