Matt Targett has been recently sold to Newcastle United after a successful loan spell and Ashley Young has been recently released after his contract expired, so Aston Villa are lacking depth at left-back ahead of next season. Steven Gerrard has Lucas Digne who will be a regular in 2022/23, but there’s no direct backup.
Digne made 31 appearances in all competitions this campaign, though he missed games due to injury. In his absence, Gerrard would call upon Young while Ben Chrisene would be on the bench, but he’ll now have to sign an individual to play a supporting role.
Villa have been linked with Rangers’ Calvin Bassey, Bologna’s Aaron Hickey and Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez, but it remains to be seen which of the aforementioned they’ll end up signing.
Gerrard might not want to spend a large portion of the summer transfer fee on a backup left-back either, as he still wants a midfielder and striker, so it’s surprising that he let Young leave.
The 36-year-old made 25 appearances this season and can ably fill in at left-back, right-back and midfield, so he was a useful player to Gerrard. His departure on a free transfer will now cost Villa money to replace.
In other news, why Aston Villa shouldn’t sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
