Aston Villa now plotting swoop for £30k-a-week defender, they’re frontrunners
Aston Villa are plotting a swoop for a “very athletic” Premier League player, and they have now emerged as frontrunners in the race for his signature.
Villa leading contenders to sign new defender
There have been doubts over the future of Lucas Digne since the summer, at which point the left-back engaged in talks over a move to Atletico Madrid, and he has fallen down the pecking order over the past few weeks, being benched for the last four league games.
Although the Frenchman remains under contract until 2028, he could now be in the latter stages of his career, at 32-years-old, which means Unai Emery may need to start thinking about bringing in a long-term replacement.
Ian Maatsen has impressed since displacing Digne in the starting XI, picking up an assist in the 4-3 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month, but the Villans remain keen on strengthening at left-back.
That is according to a report from Football Insider, which states Aston Villa are planning to bring in a new left-back, amid concerns about Digne’s long-term future at Villa Park.
Wolverhampton Wanderers defender David Moller Wolfe has now emerged as a target, with Villa plotting a swoop for the full-back, who has been one of the Old Gold’s only players to have put in some impressive performances this season.
The Villans are now among the frontrunners in the race for Wolfe’s signature, and there is a feeling he would jump at a move to Villa Park, considering his current club find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.
With Wolves now 16 points from safety, having collected just two points this season, they are expected to lose several important players, and the former AZ Alkmaar man could be among them.
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ByDominic Lund "Very athletic" Wolfe impressing for Wolves and Norway
The £30k-a-week defender has put in some eye-catching displays for both Wolves and Norway over the past six weeks or so, assisting in his national side’s 4-1 victory against Estonia, before going on to set up Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s goal in a 4-1 loss against Manchester United.
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Digne is also impressive from an attacking point of view, registering three assists in the Premier League this season, which indicates the Wolves ace could be a like-for-like replacement for the 55-time France international.
Scout Ben Mattinson has praised the 23-year-old too, describing him as “very athletic”, while also adding that he likes to “drive down the line” on the overlap.
However, it is still very early days for Wolfe in the Premier League, having only joined Wolves in the summer, and it may be a little early to start thinking about replacements for Digne, given that he has impressed for club and country at times this season.