Aston Villa have confirmed the departure of defender Lucas Digne as he has completed a move to join Paris Saint-Germain.
The 33-year-old joined us from Everton in January 2022 and went on to become a pivotal member of our squad, having played a key role in our progress and success over the past three years or so in particular.
Despite the arrivals of the likes of Alex Moreno and Ian Maatsen, Digne continued to be a reliable and consistent option at left-back, but his time at the club is now coming to an end.
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As per the club’s statement, Digne has left Villa to join PSG, and so we wish him well with the Ligue 1 champions as he begins a new chapter in his career.
From a Villa perspective, we must now move to bring in a replacement to fill that void, as Unai Emery will no doubt want competition and depth to keep pushing Maatsen in that battle for a starting spot at left-back, while we will need to rotate to compete across multiple competitions too.
Speculation has suggested that Atletico Madrid defender Matteo Ruggeri will arrive as Digne’s successor, and perhaps now with the Frenchman’s move being completed, we’ll see some movement on that front in the coming days.
It’s been a busy summer for Villa already with incomings and outgoings, and it’s hoped that as well as building a better squad by the time the transfer window closes, we are in a much better financial position too as we continue to balance the two factors amid ongoing pressure to adhere to UEFA’s regulations.
Although it had been reported last year that Digne took a pay cut to extend his stay with us, it will likely help significantly to wipe his wages off the salary bill moving forward as we continue to reduce that and the average age of the squad too.
