Top Arsenal, Newcastle target ‘will move’ this summer but ‘price tag will creep up’ on one condition

Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby is expected to get “a big move” to either Arsenal or Newcastle United this summer, according to Ligue 1 expert Jonathan Johnson.

The former Paris Saint-Germain academy prospect has been in brilliant form for Leverkusen this season with Diaby contributing 14 goals and nine assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.

missed out on Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea in the January transfer window with Mikel Arteta moving quickly to bring in Leandro Trossard instead – but there are rumours that the Gunners are still keen on bringing in another winger this summer.

Diaby, who has ten caps for France at international level, has been linked to Arsenal for a while .

And now French football expert Johnson claims both Arsenal and Newcastle are interested in Diaby but warns that his price tag could go up if Leverkusen reach the Europa League final.

Johnson told Caught Offside: ‘Moussa Diaby continues to be linked with Arsenal, and their interest doesn’t surprise me, nor does talk of a fee of around £50m being enough to prise him away from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

‘Diaby has really developed well with Leverkusen and it could even be that that price tag will creep up if they reach the Europa League final as well.

‘In terms of Diaby’s situation, it’s seemed for some time now that this could be the summer he moves. PSG were linked with a move to bring him back to the French capital, but that seems unrealistic given the fee they sold him for in comparison to how much he’d be worth now.

‘I do think his kind of talent and consistency that we’ve seen from him in the Bundesliga in the last few years would justify a fee in the region of £50m, so clubs would do well to get him for something around that figure.

‘The expectation is that Diaby will now get a move to a big European club, and there is a lot of interest from the Premier League, not just from Arsenal but from Newcastle United as well.

‘He’s definitely one to watch and it has the potential to be a good few months ahead for him if he can guide Leverkusen to the Europa League final and then get a big move.’