Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne on Unaï Emery: ‘He took me to the next level.’ | OneFootball

Lucas Digne (31) has enjoyed a promising start to the season, not only starting all three of Aston Villa’s Premier League fixtures but also regaining his place in the France squad.

It had been over two years since Digne had featured for Les Bleus, however, his consistency of performance at UEFA Champions League side Aston Villa allowed him to regain his place. Not only that, he also started in France’s 2-0 victory over Belgium in Lyon on Monday night. With concerns surrounding the fitness of Lucas Hernandez and doubts about Ferland Mendy’s commitment, as per L’Équipe, Digne could be set for more game time in Bleu going forward.

If he does so, he has one man to thank in particular – Unaï Emery. He has played 71 games for the former Arsenal manager; he has only played more under Rudi Garcia. Emery continues to utilise the France international and under his tutelage, Digne believes that he has progressed.

“The arrival of the manager (Emery) took me to the next level. I have a great feeling with him. He has given me a lot of advice and has allowed me to evolve tactically, in terms of positioning. For example, he taught me how to better orientate my body in defensive phases. I turn towards my central defender, always, so that I am perfectly aligned, and when there is a ball behind my back, I don’t turn towards the touchline, but towards our own goal by making an arced circle in order to gain time. At the start, it wasn’t easy to adopt because we have different instincts but it came little by little and it is super efficient,” he told L’Équipe.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle