Aston Villa have the luxury that many other teams do not have - two quality left-backs. Lucas Digne and Ian Maatsen both have different playing styles and strengths that benefit Villa's build up play. Last season manager Unai Emery started Digne for the majority of Villa's games, but this season it could change.
Villa's System
In Emery's system, the left-back plays a crucial role when Villa are in possession, as they get further forward, effectively playing as a left-winger. The two centre-backs and the right-back shift over to the left, acting as a three at the back. Alternatively, Boubacar Kamara in the double pivot, at times dropped into the right-back spot allowing Matty Cash to also get forward. Villa setup in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but when in possession this changes to a 3-2-5.
In this picture you can see that Digne's role is to stay high and wide, getting beyond the opposition's right-back and putt crosses into the box as well as cutting it back for players hovering on the edge. Players like Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn on the left-wing would come inside allowing him to do this, whilst also giving him a passing option in midfield.
Ian Maatsen is given the same instructions when he plays, but he is more attacking focused and direct. This mean he enters the box far more than Digne, creating slightly different goalscoring opportunities and is more of a goal threat.
However, what Maatsen offers in attack, Digne makes up for in his defending. Villa look a more stable side with Digne playing when they are defending. His defensive positioning and discipline on the ball when under pressure is superior to Maatsen, but there is no doubt Maatsen is a talented player. At the age of 23 he still has a lot of time to develop and with Emery as his manager, there is no reason why he can't be a top player in the seasons to come.
Let's take a look at their career and stats:
Lucas Digne Career
The Frenchman began his career at Lille before moving to PSG in 2013. He had spells at Roma and Barcelona before joining Premier League side Everton. Digne spent three and half seasons at The Toffees amassing 127 appearances before eventually signing for Aston Villa in January 2022 for £25 million. He has become a bit of a fan-favourite among supporters with his famous saying of "Another One!" after a Villa win.
as promised, a lucas digne another one compilation https://t.co/omZ85zwGbj pic.twitter.com/deMnnHP7Bl
— jaws 🏆 (@jawsavfc) May 18, 2024
To date he has made 138 appearances for The Villans, scoring 4 goals and 13 assists. Last season was probably his best, with 6 assists, but that doesn't even tell the whole story. His defensive work was top notch, making a number of crucial interceptions as well as winning a high number of aerial balls with 39, which was one of the highest among other left-backs in the league. This played a large part as to why he started so many games over Ian Maatsen.
At 32-years-old he is entering the last 12 months of his Villa contract and is one of the highest earners at the club at £120,000 per week. Although he did have interest from Saudi Arabia and Atletico Madrid this summer, Villa are rumoured to be interested in renewing his contract. They will no doubt look to cut his wages down as Villa need to reduce their wage bill in order to comply with UEFA's financial rules. However, due to Digne's love for the club and if he can be guaranteed minutes for this season, there will be confidence among the parties in agreeing a new deal.
Ian Maatsen Career
Maasten climbed through Chelsea's academy before enjoying loan spells at Charlton, Coventry and Burnley. His most notable loan move was to German side Borussia Dortmund in January 2024, where his performances started to stand out. Appearing 23 times in all competitions for Dortmund in the 23/24 season, including the Champions League final, where he was named in the team of the tournament. He scored 3 goals and 2 assists before making the move to Aston Villa in the summer for £37.5 million.
The Dutchman struggled for minutes last season for Villa, starting only 17 games in all competitions compared to Digne's 38 starts. Despite limited game time, Maatsen did show glimpses of what he is capable of. The 23-year-old had great performances in April against Nottingham Forest, where he assisted Donyell Malen's goal and he was on the scoresheet against Newcastle in Villa's 4-1 thrashing.
It is clear to see Maatsen has potential and there is no question that Emery is the right man to exploit it. This could mean we see a more prominent role for him this upcoming campaign after he has had a season to learn Emery's system inside out. With the likelihood for Villa to play over 50 games, both Digne and Maatsen will be needed, but it's how often each of them will play which will be interesting to see.
