Aston Villa’s 30-year-old defender Lucas Digne feels he may have to leave the club this summer if he’s not assured of his first team chances.
That’s according to a report in the Mail Online which suggests that Digne will not settle for a bit-part role.
Aston Villa will of course have Europa Conference league football as well next season but it seems Digne won’t settle for cup games.
The French full-back joined the club in January of 2022 for £25m and hasn’t been a regular starter under new manager Unai Emery.
One of Emery’s first acts at the club was to recruit Real Betis’ Alex Moreno – a player Emery surely knew well in La Liga.
And although Moreno often rotated with Digne it seemed like the former ended the season as first-choice.
Having healthy competition in all positions will of course be key to Aston Villa’s lofty ambitions this year, but it seems Digne may want to leave and not be part of it.
Digne may want to leave Aston Villa this summer
Building on their excellent finish last season, Emery’s side look to have recruited brilliantly this summer.
Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby have all arrived – signings that wouldn’t look out of place at a Champions League club.
It’s clear that Villa will back their new Spanish manager, and he’s given them every reason to.
After replacing Steven Gerrard, Emery went on an incredible run with his new side and secured a 7th place finish on the final day of the season.
And considering there were fears of relegation under Gerrard, it says it all.
If Digne were to leave Aston Villa this summer then he would surely need to be replaced given there’s a lack of other left-sided options at the back.
It’s probably a headache that Emery could do without in the last weeks before the season but he won’t want to force any unhappy players to stay if it ever came to it.
If reports are true and Digne is thinking that he may have to leave Aston Villa, then there’s still work to be done in this window.
Leave a Reply