We are excited to have journalist Dan Bardell from Sky Sports join us as our official Aston Villa columnist. Every week, he will provide his thoughts on the club’s most talked-about topics.
Dan Bardell would prefer that Lucas Digne stay at Aston Villa, given that Al-Hilal has shown a desire to sign him during the January transfer window.
On Friday, January 12, the French daily L’Equipe said on its website that the Saudi Pro League team had expressed interest in the 30-year-old.
It said they are also exploring a move for Raphael Guerreiro, with the Middle Eastern side seeking a loan-to-buy deal for the Bayern Munich fullback or Villa defender Digne.
Bardell believes the Villans are likely to review the France international’s situation in the summer as they could look to bring someone in on lower wages, with the left-back currently earning a reported £163,000 a week at Villa Park.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “He was a player I was not sure about in the summer and I felt like the move hadn’t worked out. I felt defensively, he wasn’t up to it. But I can hold my hands up and say that he’s had a really good season with consistent football
“He’s been a mainstay in the Villa side with Moreno out and I would now actually be all for him staying, I wouldn’t want him to leave because I think him and Moreno offer different things, but they’re two good options to have at left-back.
“That competition for places, I know there’s some links with Marcos Acuna and I think something was pretty close with that in the summer because Villa expected Lucas Digne to go, but I’d be very reluctant to do that. I wouldn’t want him to go now that he’s become an important player, who has had a good season.
“I don’t think he’ll want to go now either because he’s playing regular football. You could argue he’s now first-choice left-back in fact and I’ve actually missed him when he’s not been there, which wasn’t something I ever thought I’d be saying six months ago. All credit to him because I thought he was probably finished at Villa.
“The only difficulty is that if Villa think at some point they can get someone on lesser wages who can do the same kind of job as him, they will do it because he’s on a big pay packet.
“I think that would probably be one for the summer to review. That wouldn’t be something I think would happen in January.”
