NEWCASTLE United have cooled their interest in Bayern Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby after the winger declared he would be remaining in Germany for next season.

Diaby has been the subject of interest from the Magpies for the majority of the summer with Leverkusen quoting the club figures of around £60 million for his services.

Newcastle have been reticent to fork out that kind of cash to bring Diaby to the club this summer and want to avoid breaking any financial structures they have set themselves within the club but the 23-year-old all but ended any lingering hopes of a switch to Tyneside by declaring his desire to stay in the Bundesliga.

Diaby told German media outlet RP Online: “I’ve made my decision and will play for Bayern Leverkusen again next season.”

Speaking about his goalscoring aims for the forthcoming season, Diaby continued: “It’s true that I’ve made a lot of progress in this area. My goals haven’t changed for the forthcoming season.

“With Bayern, we want to have a top team again and I want to help the team as much as possible by continuing to score goals but by also providing assists. The aim is to get as far as possible in all competitions.”

The statement may well come as blow to Newcastle who earmarked Diaby as a top target at the start of the summer. Attentions may well turn to Leeds United winger Jack Harrison who is being considered by the Magpies and is valued at around £35 million. Reports suggest Newcastle have launched their first bid for the winger but Leeds boss Jesse Marsch says the club don’t intend on letting Harrison go this summer with the 25-year-old looking to be a key part of his plans following the departure of Raphina, who made a permanent switch to Barcelona.

There is an expectation that the club could be in for a quiet number of weeks on the transfer front due to be quoted inflated figures for targets.

The club’s financial firepower has received a significant boosted in the last year thanks to the takeover of the Saudi led PIF consortium. A host of new signings have been made in 2022 with this summer’s business bringing Matt Targett, Nick Pope and Sven Botman all to the club.

However, their priority remains to bring a striker to the club this summer and add firepower to their attacking options. The Magpies have seemingly lost the battle to bring Chelsea frontman Armando Broja to the club who looks set to join West Ham United for around £30 million. Elsewhere, Newcastle were on the verge of bringing Hugo Ekitike to the club but the deal fell through due to a breakdown in personal terms. He has since gone on to join French giants Paris St Germain.

Callum Wilson and Chris Wood are the club’s current options for strikers while Dwight Gayle is heading for the exit day having been exiled to the Under-23’s. However, there is an acknowledgement that Newcastle need to build for the future and are implementing a youth policy within their transfer strategy. Both Wilson and Wood reached their 30’s earlier this year and both their contracts at the club expire in the summer of 2024.