Lucas Digne is set to join Paris Saint-Germain once his World Cup campaign concludes this weekend, with the French and European champions expected to activate the release clause in his Aston Villa contract.
Digne's Villa Career
Signed from Everton in a £25 million deal in January 2022, Digne has made 182 appearances for Villa and played a key role in the club's Europa League triumph last season. A reliable servant over the past three seasons, he is a player manager Unai Emery does not want to lose. However, Villa are powerless to prevent the move due to the release clause.
Replacement Plans
Pervis Estupiñán is one of several options Villa have considered as a replacement, with the Ecuador international believed to be the club's primary target. Talks with AC Milan have reportedly been opened over a potential deal.
Speaking on Claret & Blue, John Townley discussed the difficulty Villa could face in replacing Digne. "Lucas Digne has actually been a very underrated Villa player over the last few years," he said. "He's been very solid. At the same time, though, he hasn't had good enough competition."
Townley expressed concerns about Ian Maatsen, who would likely remain if Digne departs. "We've seen Maatsen show flashes of what he can do, but it hasn't been enough. That Burnley game last season worried me a lot. He looked like a player who had lost confidence. You shouldn't be beaten as many times as Maatsen was by Loum Tchaouna that day. And obviously, it wasn't the first time that's happened. So that worried me."
He added: "We spoke earlier in the summer, didn't we, about which players Villa could sell to bring in money? One of the names was Maatsen. If Digne goes instead, I assume you'd keep Maatsen. But he has to show us something next season. And I'm talking about in the first half of the season, because then you've got January as well. We can't just let an asset depreciate."
Potential Signing: Pervis Estupiñán
Townley also commented on Estupiñán: "Maatsen would have to improve and Estupinan - if signed - would have to stay fit, obviously, while also showing more than he did at AC Milan. He did well in the Premier League with Brighton."
Villa have a number of targets lined up for each position, as is standard procedure, to ensure they can pivot if negotiations fall through.
