Official | Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby joins Al-Ittihad | OneFootball

Moussa Diaby (25) has officially left Aston Villa to sign for Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad, both clubs have announced. The 25-year-old France international only joined the Birmingham-based Premier League club last summer from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. L’Equipe previously reported that Aston Villa are set to receive €60m for parting ways with Diaby. The latter is expected to sign a five-year deal with Al-Ittihad. The Jeddah-based club is coached by Laurent Blanc and has signed France internationals Karim Benzema (36) and Ngolo Kanté (33) last summer.

Despite significant investments ahead of the Saudi Pro League term, Al-Ittihad recorded a disappointing campaign. The club had been comfortable league winners the season before but could only record a 5th-place finish last season. It remains to be seen whether Diaby would earn a recall by France manager Didier Deschamps after opting to leave the Premier League for the Gulf State’s top tier. The PSG youth product featured 11 times with Les Bleus and was not called up by Deschamps for the Euros.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval