Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucouré has been ‘privileged’ to witness Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne’s growth over the years, as he’s explained to L’Equipe.
The France international left-back spent over three years at Everton before leaving them for Aston Villa in January 2022.
Digne further improved his game after Unai Emery took charge at Villa Park in November 2022.
L’Equipe have a report on the 31-year-old defender’s rise at Aston Villa and insist that the Premier League club have given him a ‘new lease of life’.
Digne arrived in England when Everton signed him from Barcelona in August 2018 and featured regularly for the Toffees in his first three seasons. He lost prominence at Goodison Park after Rafael Benítez arrived at Everton, and that convinced him to join Aston Villa.
During his time at the Merseyside club, he played alongside Doucouré for over two years. The 32-year-old Malian insists his former teammate has developed into one of the top left-backs in the Premier League.
“For me, he’s in the top three, and that’s been the case for several years,” he said.
The Everton midfielder came up against Digne when he was in France with Stade Rennais and believes the fullback has further developed after moving to England.
“I even knew Lucas when he was younger, in Ligue 1, and he was already a physical beast. He has big thighs, big calves, and has always been quite strong,” Doucouré explained.
“But England has toughened him up even more. He’s very careful with his diet, he’s always in the weight room. He’s a hard worker.”
