Lucas Digne sends message to Andres Garcia amid Aston Villa exclusion
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne has sent a message to his teammate Andres Garcia on social media.
The Spaniard joined from Levante in the January transfer window for a fee of £6million, with £1million in add-ons.
Garcia has been left out of Villa’s Champions League squad alongside Donyell Malen.
Unai Emery has instead chosen to register Marcus Rashford who joined Villa on Deadline Day, Axel Disasi who moved on loan from Chelsea, and three-time Champions League winner Marcos Asensio.
Garcia made his debut for the Villains in a surprise 2-0 loss to relegation-candidates, Wolves, and was hooked at half-time in favour of Malen.
Lucas Digne shares birthday message with new teammate Andres Garcia
Digne shared a post to his new teammate on his Instagram story, wishing the Spaniard a happy birthday.
Digne had been linked with a move from Villa in the summer, but nothing materialised and the Frenchman has established himself as Emery’s first-choice at left-back
Digne and Garcia are set to take on Tottenham on 9 February in their next match in the FA Cup.
Aston Villa face selection dilemma at fullback positions
Both fullback positions have been up for grabs this season, but Unai Emery is yet to find his favourites at either position.
On the left, Ian Maatsen was brought in for a fee of £37.5million, but has failed to impress for his new side.
Digne was clearly not Emery’s first-choice, but the former Barcelona man has been a steady, if unremarkable player this season.
On the other side, Matty Cash has been the starter, but with the team competing on multiple fronts, a reliable alternative is necessary.
Kosta Nedeljković began the season as Cash’s deputy, but he has since been shipped out on loan to RB Leipzig in Germany.
Garcia now has the chance to prove himself as a strong alternate at the position, but will need to perform better than he did on his debut.