This is why Lucas Digne signed with Aston Villa over Chelsea

It has just been confirmed that Lucas Digne will move to Aston Villa in this January transfer window.

The former Everton player had been speculated to make the move with the final details being sorted this morning (Thursday 13 January).

The Frenchman, who was bought for £25 million,  is now Villa’s second signing of the transfer season after the landing of Barcelona player Philippe Coutinho.

Following several days of negotiations, Villa were able to fight off the other interest Digne was attracting from clubs such Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham.

Villa manager Steven Gerrard released a statement via the club’s website saying: “When Lucas became available we jumped at the opportunity to bring him to the club.

“To sign a player of his pedigree and quality in the January window is a great addition to our squad and his arrival excites me and everyone associated with Aston Villa.”

So why did Digne pick the Birmingham side who currently sit 14th over the second team in the Premier League?

Steven Gerrard

When asked about his move to Villa, the left-back said that the Villa boss was the ‘main factor’ behind the decision:

“I came here for the manager. I had a very good meeting with him, and we spoke a couple of times during this month. I feel his desire to win, to show his football as a manager - the attacking football, the possession.

“I feel it’s what I want and what I want to show the fans.”

After falling out with Everton manager Rafa Benitez, the DailyMail reported that Digne was very keen to work under the former Liverpool and England player despite not having featured for the Blue mersey-side team since 1 December.

Ambition

Aston Villa’s first signing in the January transfer window of Philippe Coutinho will be a huge sign of the direction that Villa intend on going.

In addition to Digne’s comments regarding his new manager, the Frenchman added: “It’s a big project after the signing of Philippe and the club spending a lot of money last summer.

“The project is really interesting. You can see from last summer that the project is in a good way, and I think all the players want to be here to be part of this project.

“I will try to bring myself. I’m a winner and I want to win every time and show my quality.”

Chelsea have not yet managed to secure any signings in the January transfer window while Villa have shown their passion and strive for a more secure Premier League position.

Despite ultimately being knocked out of the FA cup on Monday 10 January by a lustless Manchester United, the teamwork, talent and tenacity on the pitch was a sign of what is still yet to come from Villa Park.

Time on the pitch

Since the 29-year-old’s fallout with his now former manager, Digne has not been able to enjoy much gametime and it would be likely that this lack of pitch time would continue if he were to have chosen Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea over Villa.

At Stamford Bridge, Digne would be facing competition with Tuchel’s current first choice left-back, Marcos Alonso, after Ben Chilwell suffered an ACL injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

While it is likely that Digne will face competition for his spot on arrival at Villa, Gerrard is far more likely to pick his new signing than his current option of Matt Targett.

Digne is a more attacking full-back than his future competitor and is currently enjoying a much better statistical output in the Premier League than the Englishman. It appears it will be more of a case for Targett to fight for his place within his team than Digne having to secure his spot in a new environment.

Formations

One additional reason for Digne’s choice of Villa over Chelsea is likely to be Gerrard’s 4-3-3 formation.

Under Carlo Ancelotti, the french left-back had been much more used to this four-man defence system and Tuchel has often opted for a 3-4-3 set-up.

With the familiarity of a formation that Digne knows works well for him, Aston Villa seemed a more perfect fit for the Frenchman than attempting to conform with a club and set up that may currently appear of a higher status.

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