Lucas Digne impressed in Aston Villa draw v Bournemouth. Credit: Imago
Lucas Digne impressed in Aston Villa draw v Bournemouth. Credit: Imago
Match

Unai Emery must demand more from Lucas Digne after what Aston Villa star did v Bournemouth

Harri Burton
Harri Burton

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior football journalist specialising in refereeing and officiating; former contributor to The Football League Paper, Late Tackle, and the Premier League; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Refereeing controversies, football finance and governance, PGMOL decisions, and officiating analysis across the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL. THE INSIGHT Harri utilises a network of officiating and industry contacts to deliver verified, expert analysis of refereeing decisions and PGMOL policy. He provides the regulatory clarity behind the controversy to ensure fans get the full picture.

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Unai Emery must be asking more from Lucas Digne following the Aston Villa full-back's display against Bournemouth on Saturday (26 October).

While the Frenchman is known for his ability to deliver a cross, with an assist on international duty, he only has two goal contributions for Villa so far this season.

Emery also has new signing Ian Maatsen at his disposal, who has proven himself to be a welcome addition to the squad, so Digne may need to begin pushing into a new gear.

That may seem slightly unfair on the 31-year-old, given his defensive abilities on the pitch, but with how this Villa side plays, his crosses into the box can be majorly important in attack.

Speaking via BBC Radio 5 Live [26 October], Stephen Warnock said: "The ball in from Digne is delightful."

He will feel aggrieved not to have left Villa Park with an assist to his name, and if he wants more goal contributions to his name, his manager needs to push him in the final third.

Lucas Digne must improve in attacking area after Aston Villa v Bournemouth

The full-back maintained an 88 per cent passing accuracy, creating a big chance with one of those passes, and winning 50 per cent of his tackles and 67 per cent of his aerial duels [FotMob].

Of course, the most important aspect of a defender's game is defending, but with Emi Martinez having a partnership of Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos or Pau Torres ahead of him, the full-back can afford to push forward.

He only ranks in the bottom 15 percentile for progressive carries, the bottom 8 percentile for progressive passes and just the top 65 percentile for assists per 90 minutes [FBref] despite creating 38 chances in the league last term.

For a full-back who is so sufficient with his crosses into the box, it is strange why he ranks so low in those categories. Emery could get so much more out of him if he were to push further up the pitch.

In other Aston Villa news, Mike Dean has reacted to a controversial moment v Bournemouth, leaving the Sky Sports studio in stitches.

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Aston Villa
Lucas Digne
Bournemouth
Unai Emery
www.astonvillanews.co.uk