Bayer Leverkusen should perhaps be prepared to brace themselves for a flurry of player exits should interest persist in a number of their star players.
Christian Falk pointed to one man in his latest column for CaughtOffside who could be subjected to such a barrage in Moussa Diaby, for whom Arsenal retain ‘an interest’.
“I’ve today (Friday) been in Leverkusen to meet Rudi Völler and Florian Wirtz, who is a target of many clubs in Europe, but has decided to stay in Leverkusen minimum til 2024 for the European Championship,” the German reporter wrote.
“When I entered the lift in Leverkusen’s Club Center, Simon Rolfes, Leverkusen’s sporting director, was already in. He told me that he saw the many rumours about Premier League interest in six players of his, several of which I wrote about in my last column.
“He joked that he now has a lot of work to do because of that. One player in this column was: Moussa Diaby.
“Arsenal still have an interest in Diaby. The Bayer Leverkusen star’s agents are in contact with the club.
“However, it’s worth noting that the Gunners are also interested in Dortmund’s Julian Brandt. The club has yet to make a final decision on that front.”
The Gunners are looking to explore forward options in the summer market after being beaten out by Chelsea to the addition of Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Julian Brandt is also being considered, though Mikel Arteta’s men may very well face competition from fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham.
Whether the Dortmund man would shake hands with Spurs over potential title winners – not to mention a club more than likely to secure top four football (a similar case is not guaranteed for the former) – is another matter entirely.
Registering 11 goals and six assists in 32 appearances (across all competitions), Diaby has enjoyed a relatively prolific campaign in the German top-flight this term – a superior tally to BVB’s wide man (14 goal contributions in as many games).
Whilst Brandt is no doubt in the form of his life, his marked inconsistency at the Signal Iduna Park in recent years would surely mark him as the less appealing option to the 23-year-old Leverkusen man.