PSG include Arsenal target in transfer shortlist to replace Lionel Messi: Reports

PSG have reportedly set sights on re-signing their former player Mousa Diaby. The Frenchman was a target for Arsenal but they might have to face competition as the Ligue 1 side start search for Lionel Messi replacement.

As per a report in L'Equipe, PSG have entered the race for Diaby after it was reported that Messi was leaving the club. The Frenchman has been in top form for Bayer Leverkusen, but is yet to sign a new deal at the club. He has just a little over two years left on his current deal and is taking his time to think of a contract extension at the Bundesliga club.

Diaby has admitted that PSG, the side he left in 2019, remains a special club for him. However, he compared them to a former partner and claimed that he cannot think too much about the Ligue 1 side. He told Le Parisien in 2022:

"PSG remains a special club in my heart. I can't tell you whether I would have a spot there, but if I was still there I would give everything to have the same status as I do with Bayer Leverkusen. You don't move forward if you think about your exes too much [laughs]."

When asked about his decision to leave the French side, Diaby added:

"I was in my comfort zone because I was born in Paris, I've lived in Paris, I did everything in Paris… I had to change environments and see elsewhere, by discovering a new league, a new language, new people. The choice wasn't easy but I decided to do it and commit to it."

The 23-year-old has scored 14 and assisted 10 times for the German side this season in all competitions.

PSG target told not to join Arsenal by journalist

English journalist Jonathan Johnston believes Moussa Diaby should not join Arsenal in the summer. He added that Newcastle United would be a better fit for the Frenchman and told CaughtOffside:

"I think Moussa Diaby's name is coming up a lot ahead of the summer because he's grown a lot since he left Paris Saint-Germain to move to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. We're seeing links with the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle, and PSG themselves have also been linked with an interest in re-signing him."

PSG are now leading the race for the Frenchman, while the future of Neymar also hangs in the balance.