Star that left Aston Villa this summer is in electric form as he nets pre-season brace

Aston Villa have been busy in the transfer market this summer but there is one deal they might look back on in regret.

To be fair to Aston Villa, they had no choice but to part ways with some of their biggest stars this summer due to the pressures of the Profit and Sustainability Rules.

They waved goodbye to Douglas Luiz as he completed a £42million move to Juventus earlier in the window, and Moussa Diaby also completed a move to Saudi Arabia for €60million (£52million).

Diaby made it clear to Villa that he would like the chance to move to Saudi Arabia and Unai Emery eventually sanctioned the deal.

The fees raised by the two sales have allowed Villa to reinvest in their squad ahead of their upcoming Champions League campaign with eight new signings arriving at Villa Park this summer.

But Villa’s new-look side have got off to a rocky start by losing all three of their pre-season friendlies, and Diaby’s form at Al-Ittihad will only add salt to the wounds.

£52m ace in electric form
Diaby arrived at Villa as their club-record signing and he ended his debut season with an impressive 10 goals and nine assists.

After just one season with the Villans he has now left for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, and Villa have signed wingers Jaden Philogene, Lewis Dobbin and Samuel Iling-Junior to try and fill the void.

But Diaby is showing at Al-Ittihad why he could be extremely difficult to replace.

The 25-year-old French international has scored three times in his first four games for the club, including a brace against Inter Milan on Wednesday.

Diaby scored either side of half-time against the Italian giants to give his side a 2-0 win in pre-season.

A mistake in hindsight?
Only time will tell if Villa’s transfer business has weakened or strengthened their squad this summer.

What’s not up for debate is that losing Luiz and Diaby in the same window is a major blow. Villa’s new signings now have the difficult task of trying to make a seamless transition into Emery’s lineup.

Amadou Onana has made a bright start to life at Villa and looks to a be great replacement for Luiz, but the jury is still out on Diaby’s replacements.

The trio of Philogene, Dobbin and Iling-Junior will all need time to develop and may struggle to match Diaby’s output last season.