Leverkusen open to Diaby return to Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen are actively working to bring French winger Moussa Diaby back to the Bundesliga. 

The 27-year-old last featured for die Werkself during the 2022/23 campaign. Across four seasons with Germany’s red company team, Diaby made 125 top-flight appearances and scored 31 Bundesliga goals, establishing himself as a dynamic and productive attacker.

Sold to Aston Villa for €55 million in the summer of 2023, he moved on to Saudi club Al-Ittihad a year later. 

The 11-times-capped French international has seen his estimated market value drop considerably from a peak of €60 million in December 2023, though he remains valued at around €25 million. 

Concrete talks with the Saudi side have already taken place, yet Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan are also keen to bring the player back to European football.

Leverkusen view Diaby as the ideal complement to summer signing Afonso Moreira, who is expected to operate primarily on the left flank.

A return would therefore carry far less tactical uncertainty than a typical transfer. 

Diaby already understands the Bundesliga, the pressures that surround Leverkusen, and the demands of performing for a club that regularly targets European qualification. 

He can play on either wing, operate behind a striker, or feature as part of a fluid front line.

With Moreira projected for the left side, Leverkusen primarily see Diaby as a right-sided attacker. 

From that position, he can cut inside onto his stronger left foot, drive into the penalty area, and deliver the direct running that remains difficult to create through possession alone. 

His versatility would still allow the coaching staff to switch flanks during matches or deploy both players together in transition-heavy fixtures.

Despite competing interest from other clubs, Leverkusen hold clear appeal. Diaby would not simply return as a familiar name; he would arrive as a proven Bundesliga attacker whose key qualities continue to address a specific need within the current squad.