Lucas Digne reacts to Aston Villa announcement after loan exit confirmed
Lucas Digne has reacted after Aston Villa moved to confirm a player loan departure as Unai Emery prepares his squad for the new season.
Digne joined Villa from Everton in January 2022 for a reported fee of £25million [BBC], and he has been a key player under Emery over the last few years from left-back.
Ian Maatsen’s arrival at Villa Park from Chelsea last summer saw his game-time somewhat reduced in the 2024/25 season, and he has been linked with an exit in the last few months as a result.
The Athletic reported in May that Digne’s representatives had received enquiries about his availability from elsewhere ahead of the summer window.
Football Insider revealed on 20 June that Digne had opened talks over a move to join Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, with the La Liga outfit prepared to make an opening bid of £8m for the 31-year-old, and he has now moved to react after an exit was confirmed.
Oliwier Zych departs Aston Villa
Football finance expert Dan Plumley recently told Football Insider that the Villans will be forced to sell at least one or two players soon to try and avoid further sanctions from UEFA after a recent fine.
While none of their major assets have left as yet, the club moved to confirm the departure of an up-and-coming goalkeeper on Instagram on Monday (14 July), saying: “Aston Villa can confirm that Oliwier Zych has joined Raków Częstochowa on a season-long loan.”
Digne reacted to their announcement by liking the post after 21-year-old Zych was a regular in Villa’s matchday squad last season, with this set to be his second loan spell away from the club after a previous loan spell in the Ekstraklasa with Puszcza Niepolomice.
Aston Villa should keep Digne this summer
Football Insider verdict
Digne returned to training earlier this week after being given an extended break following international duty, and he is still clearly a very capable player after he made 45 appearances last season and was Emery’s go-to man at left-back in Villa’s brilliant Champions League run.
It comes as no surprise to see a club the size of Atletico interested in his services this summer, and Diego Simeone’s side have Champions League football and the potential to be in a title race on offer, but if he does harbour ambitions of making it to next year’s World Cup, then Digne should only join them if he is going to be first-choice.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 138 | 4 | 17 |
Villa should not look to sell the 31-year-old regardless, as he still clearly has a lot to give, and fellow left-back Maatsen is a talent but was inconsistent in his debut season the club.
They also seemingly need to raise high-profile sales this summer, so it doesn’t really make sense to let Digne go for a fee that would surely be less than £10m, as that would not do much to help in the long term.