Aston Villa left-back Lucas Digne is now attracting interest from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
Lucas Digne is no stranger to speculation linking him with a move away from Villa Park.
The Frenchman lost his place in the starting XI to Alex Moreno once Unai Emery arrived last term and he struggled to win it back.
As a result of this, several clubs registered their desire to sign Digne in the summer – including Al-Hilal – but nothing materialised and the 30-year-old remained at Aston Villa.
After Moreno suffered a gut-wrenching injury at the start of the season, many had reservations over Digne replacing him, especially given what they’d seen him from before.
However, he’s proven the doubters wrong by becoming a stand-out player in Emery’s side and rising to prominence as one of the most creative left-backs in the Premier League.
According to FBref, he ranks in the top 15% for shot-creating actions, top 11% for touches (att pen) and top 1% for progressive passes received.
Despite suffering a hamstring injury in the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United last month, Digne has now resumed light training and could be in the squad for Sunday’s trip to Everton.
The Frenchman’s Villa Park redemption still hasn’t stopped clubs showing an interest in him and if anything, his excellent form has heightened those enquiries.
Al-Hilal have contacted Aston Villa for Lucas Digne
According to French outlet L’Equipe, Al-Hilal have come back in for a second bite of the cherry for Digne following their intrigue in the summer.
The Saudi Arabian club want to improve at left-back and in their pursuit of more quality in that area, have contacted Bayern Munich regarding Raphael Guerreiro and Villa’s Digne.
It states in the report that Al-Hilal want to negotiate a loan with an option to buy for both players.
Given we’re halfway through the season, it’s unlikely that Bayern or Villa would sanction a loan deal for either player and would only sell if there was a replacement lined up.
Aston Villa need to hold out for a sizeable fee
Hailed as “fantastic” by Steven Gerrard during his time at the club, Digne’s excellent form this season warrants a fee to complement that in the transfer window.
Saudi Arabian clubs have shown they aren’t scared to throw around money at will.
Liverpool rejected a £150m bid from Al-Ittihad in the summer for Mohamed Salag while Al-Hilal smashed the Pro League transfer record by signing Neymar in a move worth up to £86m.
They also splashed the cash on the likes of Malcom, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kalidou Koulibaly in that window, so aren’t short of a penny or two when it comes to shelling out large transfer fees.
With that said, Villa should only sell Digne in this window if a decent offer is put on the table while rejecting any loan offers sent their way.
