Aston Villa’s left-back conundrum
Aston Villa have already seen 13 changes take place to their first-team squad this season but one position in particular is heavily stacked, leaving Monchi and Unai Emery with a decision to make.
Villa have three (four if you include Samuel Iling-Junior) players who can play at left-back. One (or two) of these players will need to be moved on but who should depart?
Ian Maatsen was a £37 million signing from Chelsea this summer and a player who was named as part of the Champions League team of the season last year. He offers much-needed vital experience and you would think he would become Emery’s first-choice option next season.
It is unclear where IIing-Junior will feature at Villa. Last season at Juventus he mainly featured as a left wing-back but Emery has played him higher up during pre-season. The verdict is still out on the 20-year-old and time is on his side.
That leaves the two obvious choices, Lucas Digne and Àlex Moreno. Both are 31 so Villa will have one eye on their ages and try to recoup some of the initial outlay but how do they compare?
Lucas Digne
Digne initially struggled under Emery but stepped up last season deciding on who should depart was not so easy. Villa lost a lot of goal contributions when Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby departed earlier this summer so I was worried about Digne but I was surprised when I read that he only contributed to three assists last season.
We know that Digne likes to get up the field and cross the ball giving Villa a different attacking outlay but defensively, although he has improved, would be one of his weaknesses.
Then we have the most talked about topic around the Frenchman. His wages. He is reportedly one of the highest-paid players at Villa at around £125,00 per week. A lot of money for a back-up to Maatsen. This makes him the easier option over Moreno but finding someone to take on his wage is another thing altogether as we have seen with Phillip Coutinho.
There have been various links to Saudi Arabia and more recently Galatasaray but nothing concrete to date.
Àlex Moreno
Moreno has had the opposite fortune to Digne. Impressed when he first arrived under Emery and suited the manager’s style of play. However, he picked up an injury at the back end of that season and he struggled to make an impact last season.
Àlex didn’t contribute to any assists last season but did chip in with a couple of goals. His ability to cut inside from the left-back position creating space for whoever plays wide left gives Villa a different option to Digne but like his French counterpart, his defence work sometimes leaves little to be desired and it’s clear to see why Maatsen was brought in this summer.
There have been rumours of a potential move back to Real Betis but similar to Digne, nothing concrete to date.
Conclusion
As I have already stated, Digne’s wage makes him the obvious option and I am sure if one departs this summer, the other will follow next summer.
Can we afford to allow both to leave if that becomes an option? Is Iling-Junior ready to play back-up to Maatsen or do Monchi and Emery have someone else up their sleeve? Mario Hermoso is another name that has been linked with Villa giving Emery a similar option he has with Konsa but on the left.
Both Digne and Moreno have been good servants for Villa. They have always respected the club and its fans and this is something we should take lightly.
One thing is for sure, the summer transfer business in B6 isn’t over just yet.
Who would you look to move on and why?