Aston Villa are losing Lucas Digne along with Youri Tielemans after an agreement was reached with Paris Saint-Germain.
News broke of Tielemans having his £35million release clause triggered by Manchester United on Monday morning.
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And if that wasn’t bad enough for Villa, Digne is another of their stars that have a release clause in their current contract.
eSPORTY understands that he is available for less than £10m – and PSG are now going to trigger that clause.
A verbal agreement is in place for the French left-back, who has been representing his country at the World Cup this summer.
His release clause is expected to be officially triggered after the tournament, with France still in with a chance of going all the way.
Digne signed for Aston Villa from Everton in 2022 and has since made 182 appearances for the club in all competitions.
Last season, he starred for Unai Emery’s side, playing 31 times in the Premier League as they secured a top-four finish.
He provided four assists in the top flight, also featuring 11 times in the Europa League as Villa went on to win the competition.
Following the campaign, Digne headed to North America for the World Cup and he’s played four of six games for France.
The 62-cap defender featured in just one group game, but Didier Deschamps has started him in every knockout clash so far.
His performances have attracted interest from French giants PSG, who are planning to make him back-up to Nuno Mendes.
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Who could replace Digne?
eSPORTY understands that Pervis Estupinan is the main candidate to replace Digne at Aston Villa.
The former Brighton left-back worked with Unai Emery at Villarreal and his current club AC Milan are open to a sale.
Milan only signed Estupinan last summer, but they won’t stand in the Ecuadorian’s way after playing just 20 times last term.
It’s understood that Italian giants will consider a sale of €10-15million plus add-ons.
Release clause nightmare
Emery would have been planning for the new campaign with Tielemans and Digne in his ranks, however he’s now set to lose both of them for low fees.
Tielemans’ imminent shock switch to Man United comes after the Red Devils’ deal for Ederson moved to the brink of collapse.
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Michael Carrick is on the lookout for new midfielders, with the Belgian set to follow Andrey Santos through the door.
For Villa, they have had one of their leading stars poached, with him now expected to leave after 134 games for the club.
Fortunately, Emery will have some back-up coming in that area, as Johan Manzambi opted to join.
Manzambi was close to signing for Newcastle, but he hesitated on making a decision, allowing Villa to enter talks.
And they have managed to hijack the Magpies’ £51.2m deal for the 20-year-old Switzerland international.
Extra funds of around £45m received from Tielemans and Digne’s expected departures will allow Emery to do more business.
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However, with pre-season underway, time is ticking, with Villa’s first competitive game less than a month away.
Ironically, they will be facing PSG and Digne in the UEFA Super Cup on August 12.
By winning the Europa League last term, they take on the Champions League winner in a battle of the European champions.
