With speculation building over the future of Lucas Digne, Aston Villa face an important decision on whether or not to green light an exit for the Frenchman.
The 29-year-old arrived from Everton in January last year and has since gone on to make 47 appearances for the club, contributing two goals and four assists to go with his defensive work.
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While it was a step up at that time for us in the left-back role, Digne saw his involvement drastically diminish in the second half of last season as Alex Moreno arrived in the New Year and quickly established himself as Unai Emery’s first choice in that position.
After his injury against Leeds Utd on January 13, which essentially opened the door for Moreno immediately, Digne went on to start just five more Premier League games out of a possible 18, with the last two coming as a result of an injury that ruled his Spanish teammate out of our last two outings of the campaign.
In turn, it’s fair to say that he has had to settle into a back-up role, but with Villa qualifying for Europe, looking to make further progress in the league and wanting to compete for domestic cup trophies, we’ll need competition and depth right across the squad this season to ensure we can cope with that schedule.
While we’ve seen how effective Moreno can be in Emery’s system and style of play given his ability to break forward and provide width and an attacking outlet, there are still question marks over whether or not Digne is an equally ideal fit.
Nevertheless, with his experience, pedigree and quality, he is certainly a more than capable option to feature for us, and with the Villa boss adamant that he wants strong competition in every position, we currently have that and there is an argument that any changes would be unnecessary.
However, as per the Daily Mail, Villa are said to be willing to listen to offers for Digne, and report that the Frenchman is one of the top earners at the club given he’s earning in excess of £100,000-a-week, having arrived for a transfer fee of around £25m.
That is a lot of money tied up in a player who was largely limited to the bench for half of last season, and so perhaps the sensible option would be to offload him this summer, bring in a capable replacement and direct more of our resources elsewhere.
Digne still has three years remaining on his current contract and so we’re in a strong position to demand a decent fee to recoup as much of our outlay as possible, and given he turns 30 in a few days time, now is the time to act if we believe a reshuffle at left-back is needed.
This all hinges on finding that top replacement though in a player who can push Moreno and provide reliable cover when needed. Perhaps that comes in the form of a younger option, with Valencia’s Jesus Vazquez previously paired with a move to join us, as per Cadena Ser.
Essentially, Digne offers more assurances with his experience and proven track-record, and Villa don’t have a pressing need to make changes in that position if Emery is comfortable with the options at his disposal and believe it’s the right balance for what’s ahead this season.
That said, with Moreno as our starting left-back, we may well find a longer-term and more financially sound solution in the transfer market to provide cover and offer a better fit for Emery as one of his own signings than Digne. A decent transfer fee and shifting his wages is a smart business decision too, as we continue to try and strengthen the squad across the board while balancing the books as best as possible.
Should we keep Digne or sell and replace him?
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