Why Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne could become France’s first-choice left-back

Lucas Digne (31) has 46 caps for the France national team, however, his last came all the way back in June of 2022. The Aston Villa defender was recalled to the squad for the current international break, and whilst he did not feature in Friday’s 3-1 defeat to Italy, he is expected to start against Belgium on Monday evening, L’Équipe understands. 

The Frenchman, who almost made the move to OGC Nice back in the summer of 2023, before ultimately being retained by Aston Villa, could also harbour hopes of an increasingly prominent role going forward, despite not featuring for Les Bleus for over two years. 

Digne could feature more regularly – or even establish himself as first-choice – at left-back due to competitors for the role underwhelming. Lucas Hernandez’s quality isn’t in question, but his ability to stay fit certainly is, whilst there are fears within the France camp that his brother, Théo, may have hit his ceiling, L’Équipe understands. The motivation of Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy has also been called into question in a report by the publication, which could therefore offer Digne the shock opportunity to establish himself as a key member of Didier Deschamps’ squad, not only in this current international break, but also going forward.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle