Speaking to The Express, Bayer Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes has declared that Newcastle target Moussa Diaby is not for sale – saying they plan to keep him at the club “for as long as possible.”
Newcastle have been heavily linked with the Bundesliga star who has enjoyed a successful few seasons in Germany, with L’Equipe reporting that we’d launch a formal bid for the £60m-rated Frenchman after identifying him as a ‘priority target.’
However, a move for the 22-year-old appears to be off the table, as the club’s director has played down talk of him leaving anytime soon, claiming “we are not even looking for that at the moment.”
Here’s what he told The Express’ Ryan Taylor when asked if any offers had arrived:
“No, no. For sure we want to keep Moussa for as long as possible.
“I know a lot of scouts have been sitting on our tribune during our matches because we have a lot of interesting, exciting young players with high potential.
“So, it’s the same with Patrik Schick. We do not have any offers for him but we are not even looking for that at the moment.
“We would like to keep him and play with him next year in the Champions League.”
The France international has been exceeding expectations year on year and, in his most recent campaign, recorded 25 goals and assists in 32 league appearances.
A combination of Diaby, Wilson and Saint-Maximin could be lethal in the Premier League, but it looks like we will have to explore other options to bolster our attack next season.
