Aston Villa are preparing for their Champions League showdown against RB Leipzig after turning a corner in the last week.
Aston Villa followed up their 2-1 victory over Brentford with a 1-0 win against Southampton in the Premier League, shooting them back up to sixth position.
Jhon Duran was the hero in the Saints’ win, as he scored the games only goal to earn his side a priceless three points.
Duran starting over Ollie Watkins was a huge talking point, but it wasn’t the only change Unai Emery made to his starting XI, with Ian Maatsen coming in for Lucas Digne.
Digne has made the left-back position his own this term despite the arrival of Maatsen, and the Villa manager has now praised his improvement.
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Unai Emery says Lucas Digne is a managers dream to work with
From being a divisive character among the Villa faithful to becoming one of Emery’s most important players, the Frenchman is proof that hard work can go a long way.
Digne was ‘on fire’ for France during last month’s international break, and he’s shown such incredible form in claret and blue.
Not only has Digne improved so much at Aston Villa on the pitch but Emery sees the 31-year-old as a role model in the dressing room, praising how much he enjoys training and takes advice on board.
“He is a player like every coach would want. He’s mature, very responsible, he wants to improve every day. Even when he’s playing matches, he wants to train more,” Emery told Villa’s official website.
“When we are coming from the national team matches with two days off, he’s usually only accepting one day off and then he’s coming to train with us. He’s back with his national team, which is fantastic news for him and for us.
“On the field, he’s giving us a lot of moments, discipline defensively and offensively with the ball. His mentality is fantastic. He wants more and more.
“He’s a good example for other players, how he’s trying every day to train and improve – learning and listening and being humble.”
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Lucas Digne 2024/25 Aston Villa stats
It’s amazing how Digne has transformed in all areas of his game to become a vital component down the left flank.
So far, the former Everton man has supplied two assists in 15 Premier League appearances while also producing some impressive attacking metrics.
| Lucas Digne 2024/25 Premier League statistics per 90 | Stat |
| Assists | 0.17 |
| Shot-creating actions | 2.59 |
| Progressive passes received | 5.35 |
| Key passes | 1.76 |
| Crosses | 6.61 |
| Passes into penalty area | 1.51 |
In terms of becoming a creative outlet down the right with quality crossing, Digne is arguably one of the league’s best full-backs at firing ammunition into the box.
The Frenchman arguably deserves more than just two assists to his name as well given how many quality chances he’s created, and long may his fantastic form continue.
