Aston Villa have to 'get rid' of defender as Fabrizio Romano transfer update emerges

Aston Villa will be looking to sell one of Lucas Digne or Alex Moreno as they close on a deal to sign Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, Alan Hutton has said.

Fabrizio Romano reported on Friday (21 June) that Villa are expected to complete personal terms with the Dutch full-back, who spent time on loan at Borussia Dortmund last season, after agreeing a £37.5million fee with Chelsea.

That would seemingly leave Villa oversubscribed at left-back with Digne and Moreno also on the books and Hutton says it is inevitable one will have to go for the balance of the squad.

Speaking to Villa News, the former Villans defender said: "I think you need to get rid of somebody, I think it comes down to that.

"If we're talking on the left-hand side you have Digne and Moreno so somebody has to leave you can't have an unbalanced squad.

"When we talk about Matty Cash on the right, he could be leaving, are they going to bring somebody in? There's been a lot of talk about [Denzel] Dumfries from the Netherlands so there are a lot of things, a lot of moving parts to this but you can't have an unbalanced squad. "

"If one comes in and you've got too many you need to shift somebody on."

Writing on the wall for Lucas Digne at Aston Villa

There's just simply no escaping the facts on this one. Three doesn't go into one, and Unai Emery will be well aware he can't go into the season with three left-backs on the books.

Out of the two currently on Villa's books, you would have to say Digne is the one most likely to leave given he has consistently been linked with an exit from Villa Park.

Digne was tipped with a move away several times last summer and with Maatsen seemingly very close to coming in the door then the 30-year-old Frenchman is surely set for an exit.

Moreno is 31, so you wouldn't be too surprised if he were the man sacrificed either but all the murmurings have tended to centre on Digne being the one to leave.

In other Aston Villa news, the Villans have been urged to complete a midfielder signing from a rival Premier League this summer.

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