The chef’s surprise. This Thursday, Didier Deschamps (55 years old) revealed the list of 23 Blues selected to face Germany (March 23 in Lyon) and Chile (March 26 in Marseille) in a friendly. While everyone expected to see Bradley Barcelona, author of good things at PSG, selected for the first time with the A, DD decided to opt for another choice. Indeed, to compensate for the absence of Kingsley Coman (injured), he called on a ghost: Moussa Diaby. The Frenchman had honored his last cape almost a year ago. It was March 27, 2023 against Ireland (1-0 victory, Euro qualifiers).
That day, he played 26 minutes. Since then, a lot has happened for him. First of all, the Paris native completed his fourth season at Bayer Leverkusen, with a record of 14 goals and 10 assists in 48 matches in all competitions, including 47 as a starter. Then, the former PSG player changed clubs during the offseason. Courted by Al-Nassr, the footballer born in 99 decided to stay in Europe. He flew to England where Aston Villa, who paid around 55 million euros.
An adaptation that takes time at Aston Villa
Very motivated by the idea of discovering his new club and a new championship, he made his big debut on August 12 against Newcastle. Le Frenchy launched his adventure perfectly since he scored a goal, despite his team’s heavy defeat. He did it again with a new goal against Burnley on August 27. Then, he alternated between starts and appearances. Currently, he has participated in 38 matches in all competitions, including 24 as a starter. Concerning his statistics, he scored 6 goals and delivered 5 assists.
But Diaby, who must adapt to his new team, did not establish himself in Unai Emery’s eleven. Moreover, in the last 8 matches in which he participated, he was a substitute 7 times. A situation commented on by Salim Baungally, English football specialist contacted by us. “We must remember one thing about him, he is an important player in the squad, but that does not mean that he is an absolute executive. He is a player who is part of the “plus rotation”. By that I mean that he does not have to play two minutes but that he does not necessarily play 90 minutes. I speak for the championship.
The Frenchman is no longer the holder
He pursues : “in the Conference League, he has a little more minutes. But in the Premier League, out of the 28 appearances he made, there were only four matches where he played the entire match. Otherwise, he would go out. Over the last 6 or 7 days, the maximum minutes he has played is 30 minutes. He was not a starter.” How to explain this? “You have to say that he has competition on his side, notably that of Leon Bailey. He also had previously played at Bayer Leverkusen, where he competed with Diaby at the time. Little by little, he played and had his place fully in Leverkusen, when Bailey left.
Salim Baungally specifies: “Now this competition exists again at Villa. Bailey had a complicated first part of the season and Diaby took advantage of it. And now, we must admit that Bailey is very good on this side. Which means that Diaby is almost number 2 today”. This doesn’t really seem to bother Didier Deschamps, who decided to summon him. “It can give him a lot of hope and expectation to do everything to be in the May list. There are players who come regularly, others depending on circumstances. He has not lost his qualities, he is capable of being decisive. This is the opportunity for him to make the most of this gathering”admitted DD.
A card to play with the Blues
Despite everything, this choice may be surprising given his situation at club (1 goal in 2024). Salim Baungally is of the same opinion. “In the current period, it’s almost surprising in the sense that he’s a player who plays a little less. He is in the group all the time however, he is not injured or very little. He plays minutes but he doesn’t start games or play them in full. He is an important player because if a teammate is injured, he will play longer but he is not a potential starter today at Villa. His experience in Blues (10 selections, 3 starts, 0 goals) tipped the scales in the eyes of Deschamps. The latter also recognized it.
“Moussa Diaby has around ten selections, has shown some great things, it seemed logical to me to recall him. I don’t know what will happen between now and May given all the matches the players will have to play between now and then, it could be different.” His profile was certainly also popular. “It’s a different profile to that of Kingsley Coman. He is fast but much less than Coman. He has a left foot, which means he can do two things. It can overflow, it can fit. Coman is a bit more complicated to get in because he has a less interesting left foot.”, admits the English football specialist. Selected with the Blues, Moussa Diaby has a card to play, almost a year after his last match with the rooster jersey.
