Just over a week ago, we covered a report from Le10 Sport claiming that Watford were preparing an offensive for Lyon defender Mouctar Diakhaby.
The 21-year-old, once seen as the future of the Ligue 1 club’s backline, featured far less than anticipated under Bruno Génésio last season, and rumours of an exit started to emerge.
As well as the Hornets, Valencia in Spain were said to be interested, and if SuperDeporte are to be believed on Friday, they are now in the lead.
The Spanish outlet claim that talks between the French and La Liga clubs took place on Thursday, and while an agreement has yet to be found, there’s an expectation the transfer could be done really soon.
Lyon are asking for around €20m, while Valencia are only prepared to offer €15m, but an agreement between the French club and their player is said to exist for him to leave for the lower of the two prices.
SuperDeporte believe a fee below €15m could be agreed on if the buying club are willing to include a percentage of any future sale into the deal.
The centre-back is also said to want to play for Valencia next season, suggesting a move to Watford now appears to be off the cards.
That is, of course, if the Hornets actually were interested in the first place.
If they are, they’ll have to move very quickly to beat Valencia and probably offer Diakhaby a enticing contract if they are to change his mind.
