Aston Villa are reportedly in talks over a deal to sign Sevilla’s Marcos Acuna to potentially replace Lucas Digne, who has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia.
The 31-year-old boasts a wealth of experience and pedigree at the top level, as after previous spells at Racing Club and Sporting, he has made 124 appearances for Sevilla, contributing five goals and 12 assists.
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Further, he has 53 caps for Argentina, and was a key member of the squad that won the World Cup in Qatar last year.
According to The Telegraph, Villa are working on a deal to sign Acuna, and it’s with the view of replacing Digne who is said to be of interest to clubs in Saudi Arabia, including Al-Hilal.
It’s added that Villa are keen to move the Frenchman on, and so it remains to be seen if the pieces fall into place for him to leave to create space for Acuna to come in.
Reports since Unai Emery arrived have consistently suggested that the Spaniard hasn’t been entirely convinced by Digne, who was essentially replaced in the Villa XI from January onwards following the arrival of Alex Moreno.
While the 30-year-old offers solid competition and depth, there is a sense that he isn’t the ideal fit for our system and style of play under Emery, with Moreno ticking more of the right boxes, hence his impressive impact in the second half of last season.
Further, it has been widely suggested that Digne is one of the top earners at the club with his current contract set to run until June 2026, and so moving him on would arguably be the sensible move, with Acuna offering a solid alternative option when Moreno returns from injury.
The Spaniard is expected back either later this month or in early September after undergoing hamstring surgery at the end of last season, and once fully fit, he will likely slot back in at left-back and provide his crucial influence getting forward while also improving defensively.
Acuna would offer a different profile for different scenarios too given his characteristics, and so time will tell if Emery’s reshuffle materialises, with one in and one out as we switch up our left-back depth.
