Unai Emery has mastered the art of dragging players from zero to hero with one current Aston Villa player now playing his best football.
Jamie Carragher thinks Unai Emery is the second-best manager in the Premier League behind only Pep Guardiola but in terms of how he improves players, the Spaniard is arguably the best.
Emery is approaching nearly two years at Aston Villa and during that time, he’s skyrocketed the development of many individuals.
Ezri Konsa was a shadow of his former self under Steven Gerrard but under a world-class manager, Konsa is now one of England’s best defenders.
The 26-year-old isn’t the only player to see a significant spike in his development, with Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran, and Morgan Rogers all bearing the fruits of Emery’s managerial expertise.
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Lucas Digne is playing his best football in an Aston Villa shirt
Lucas Digne is another talented operator who can safely say he belongs to the above list, with the Frenchman transforming his career under Emery.
The 31-year-old was once lambasted by sections of the support, who didn’t think he was up to the standard, but now he’s playing his best football in a Villa shirt.
Last season, Digne played 33 matches in the Premier League, scoring once and grabbing three assists.
So far, the former Barcelona left-back has nearly eclipsed the above goal involvements in his first five games in 2024/25, assisting Duran in the win over Leicester City and Watkins against Everton.
When looking further into the statistics, the French international is already outperforming his defensive and attacking metrics from last season.
| Premier League statistics | Lucas Digne (2023/24) | Lucas Digne (2024/25) |
| Assists | 3 | 2 |
| Big chances created | 5 | 4 |
| Key passes | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Accurate passes per game | 25 (81%) | 26.6 (86%) |
| Interceptions per game | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Tackles per game | 1.4 | 2.6 |
| Clearances per game | 1.8 | 2.2 |
| Possession lost per game | 11.7 | 10.4 |
Taking into account that the left column is based on 33 games played and the right is five, Digne has nearly equalled his assist tally while he’s making more accurate passes, interceptions, tackles and clearances per game.
That is some improvement from the player they signed from Everton for £25 million in January 2022, with new signing Ian Maatsen finding it difficult to displace him.
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Ian Maatsen vs Lucas Digne
Captured from Chelsea for £37.5 million in the summer, many expected Maatsen to instantly displace Digne in the left-back role but he’s had to bide his time for starts.
The Dutchman has appeared from the bench on five occasions in the Premier League while in Tuesday night’s win over Wycombe Wanderers, he made his first start of the season.
With Digne playing his best-ever football in a Villa jersey, the 22-year-old has been met with a tougher challenge than he would have first envisaged.
Currently, Digne is Emery’s preferred choice in that role and that is a testament to how much he’s improved in the past year.
