Exclusive: Agreement almost finalized: Aston Villa will give up to £20 million to Bayer Leverkusen.

Football Insider has been informed by sources that Aston Villa still owes Bayer Leverkusen more than half of the money they spent for Moussa Diaby last year.

The winger, who is eager to move to the Middle East, is being pursued by Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia, but the Midlands giants are holding out for a bid of at least £50 million.

The agreement is currently in a more advanced stage, and all parties anticipate that it will be concluded after the payment schedule has been decided.

No matter how much Aston Villa pays for Diaby, they will still owe Bayer Leverkusen, Diaby’s former team, a sizable sum.
Only this summer, in a record-breaking transfer from the German team for an initial cost of £43 million, did Diaby move to Villa Park.

With the deal nearly completed, Moussa Diaby wishes to leave Aston Villa.
Diaby played in 54 games for Villa in his stellar rookie season, which included every one of the team’s 38 Premier League games.
He became an essential member of Unai Emery’s assault with his 10 goals in all competitions, six of which came in the Premier League. This made him the club’s fifth highest goalscorer.
The 25-year-old played a big role in Villa’s fourth-place result and their first Champions League entry since 1983, but it doesn’t seem likely that he will play in the European tournament the following season.

Cole Palmer has instructed Ollie Watkins to leave the team and join Chelsea, so the Frenchman could not be the only forward departing Villa Park.