Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed that Lucas Digne is currently more likely to stay at the club rather than seal an exit before the transfer deadline, but it is still possible he moves on.
Speculation has been rife over the 30-year-old’s future in recent weeks, as there have been strong suggestions that he could move on this month with Villa linked with an interest in potential replacements.
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As per Fabrizio Romano, talks were said to be advancing with OGC Nice over an initial loan move with an option to buy included in the agreement, and so it’s unclear whether or not the French international will still be with us for the rest of this season.
Digne has made 50 appearances for Villa since joining us in January 2022, but has had to contend with being second choice behind Alex Moreno since his arrival at the start of this year. The Spanish full-back has proven to be an ideal fit for Emery’s system and style of play and has established himself as our starter on the left when available, but having suffered an injury at the back end of last season, it has given Digne a fresh opportunity to stake his claim and regain his place.
Asked about his situation after our win over Hibernian on Wednesday night, Emery conceded that it is still possible that Digne could leave in this window, but currently, it’s more likely that he stays with us.
“We need two very good left backs and now we have an injury to Alex Moreno,” he is quoted as saying by The Athletic. “Lucas Digne, always, we will have the respect of him because he’s very important for us.
“We were managing with him at the beginning of the season of the possibility (him leaving) maybe, if it was good for him, it was good for the club and we could have in the squad two good left-backs like with him and Alex Moreno. That could be a possibility.
“But today, tonight, he’s more closer to staying here than to leave.”
Digne has been impressive in our last two games, producing solid defensive displays while pairing that with a bigger influence in the final third as he registered three assists against Hibernian in midweek to build on a positive outing against Everton last weekend.
While Moreno is expected back in the next week or two, Digne will continue to play a key role for us in his absence with Burnley away on Sunday next up, and so an exit doesn’t particularly seem like a sensible idea in the immediate future, unless Villa have a replacement ready to come in.
Conversely, the Frenchman is believed to be one of the highest earners at the club and given his limited role when Moreno is at Emery’s disposal, it does make sense to try and move him on. Time will tell though if the pieces fall into place for that to happen in the next week or so.