Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne has dismissed reports suggesting that he could be set to join Galatasaray on loan ahead of the new season.
The 31-year-old joined us in January 2022, and has since gone on to make 93 appearances for the club.
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However, competition for places has ramped up this summer with the arrival of Ian Maatsen, and with Alex Moreno in the squad too, the expectation remains that someone will be moved on to reduce numbers.
After speculation suggested that a loan move to Galatasaray might be in the offing for the Frenchman, as per the post on X he responded to below, he took to social media himself to rebuff those claims.
Sorry but no true 🤣🤣🤣
— Lucas Digne ⭐️ (@LucasDigne) August 7, 2024
According to Fabrizio Romano, Digne’s agent has now confirmed that although Galatasaray did contact Villa over a potential move, no agreement was reached between the player and the Turkish giants, while he adds that his client wants to stay at Villa.
In turn, it sounds as though there was nothing in the reports in terms of actual agreements either between the two clubs or with Digne himself, and so as things stand, he will remain a Villa player heading into the new campaign.
Time will tell if another proposal emerges that he would consider leaving for, as ultimately Villa are stacked in that left-back position and it makes sense to make space by offloading at least one option with Maatsen expected to be first-choice moving forward.
Given his age and touted wages, Digne would arguably be the sensible option to move on, while it could be argued that Moreno is still better suited to Unai Emery’s style of play and system, and would provide a more effective back-up option to Maatsen.
That said, Digne has been an important player for the Villa boss since he was appointed, offering a reliable and steady presence in the backline when needed. In turn, time will tell if he’s adamant about not leaving this summer, and whether or not that means it will be Moreno who potentially looks for a solution elsewhere instead.