Aston Villa defender, Lucas Digne started the season as an unneeded man to one of the stars of this campaign so far. Why has he been so good this year?
In January 2022, Aston Villa made a statement signing as Lucas Digne was brought in from Everton in a deal worth £25 million.
Following Unai Emery coming into the club, as well as Alex Moreno, the Frenchman lost his regular starting role.
As a result of this, the summer felt like the opportunity for him to leave as Villa tried to lose the £120k-a-week contract from their books.
A move for Marcos Acuna looked likely but after he suffered an injury, the move was curtailed. With Moreno injured and nobody else coming in, Digne retook his role as the left back in the starting XI.
Many fans had their reservations about this being the case, but those worries have been put to bed in recent weeks.
How good has Lucas Digne been this season?
Considering how good Moreno was after signing last year, it was of huge disappointment when he got injured. He has been missed, but the Frenchman has stepped up.
He has featured in every single Premier League game this season as Villa sit fifth in the Premier League. Two league assists don’t paint the full picture.
To begin the season, against Hibernian, the full-back picked up a hattrick of assists. Adding to this with a goal against Legia Warsaw.
Looking at his Fbref, his stats are quite superb. In all areas, he has positive statistics to back up the claim he has been great this season. Firstly, his defensive stats see him register in the top 25+% for clearances and aerial duels won.
Moving further up the pitch, his offensive statistics see him fit into the top 10% of full-backs for expected assists and shot-creating actions.
Finally, he is one of the best fullbacks in Europe when it comes to receiving progressive passes. This also is attributed to stars like Pau Torres who supply him with the passes throughout games.
Digne pushes up the pitch and often it allows the defenders to have more space and makes it hard to press. This allows for stars like Ezri Konsa and even Emi Martinez to flourish with the ball at their feet.
He gets forward and often looks to make progressive passes himself, whether that be crosses or through passes down the line. This allows for other stars to shine and the Frenchman is often an unsung hero for the Villans.
Considering how the season looked like it was going to go for the Villa left-back, he has knuckled down and performed superbly.
