Aston Villa have not had the easiest of summers, but they are still setting their targets high for the season at home and on the continent. Lucas Digne desires to continue being an integral part of the project at a club he "loves" as he hammered home "the goal to reach Europe" four years on the spin.
‘I’m happy here enjoying my football’
Villa have raised the levels in the last three years, but the season ended with sadness back in May.
They lost the **FA Cup**semi-final 3-0 to Crystal Palace, blowing their chance at a title for the first time since the 1996 League Cup, and bowed out of the Champions League to the eventual winners, Paris Saint-Germain, despite a memorable 3-2 triumph in the second leg in front of their fans.
They then failed to return to the elite European tournament on the final day of the season, walking away with nothing against Manchester United thanks to a disallowed goal for Morgan Rogers. Yet, Digne and the rest of the players have dusted themselves down and look forward to going again.
*“Now, everybody is excited to start the new season. We worked really hard during the pre-season in the US and at Bodymoor too. Now, we’re just waiting to be back at Villa Park.”*
Villa kick off the campaign with a meeting against Newcastle United, a rival for European football. The Toon lost their final two games of the Premier League season, but a 2-0 defeat at **Old Trafford**meant the final and fifth spot for the **Champions League**belonged to the outfit from the North-East.
The team lost three times in a row to Eddie Howe and his men in the league, but battered them 4-1 at their ground to gain momentum in the top five race in April. They hope to mimic that achievement.
“We want to enjoy with the fans the first game, and hopefully the first three points of the season to start in the best way. Everybody is excited for sure, and I think for the fans, it’s the same.”
The Frenchman was speaking a week after he chose to commit his future to the club. He has played 138 times for the Villans over three and a half years after falling out of favour with Rafa Benitez at Everton, but he has felt at home with Unai Emery and put pen to paper for a deal to last until 2028.
**Ian Maatsen**signed last summer as another attacking profile for the role of a left back and can also fill in as a winger. But the Basque believes that the 31-year-old is one of the key elements of his setup.
“It was a good decision with the gaffer and the club. Everybody agreed. I want to stay and I’m happy here, enjoying my football, back with the national team, and it was really important for me to show my love to this club, and the club too. It was a really good thing for me, and hopefully for the club too.”
Since Emery walked into the dugout at the start of November 2022, Villa have not failed to finish in the top seven. They qualified for the Conference League in May 2023, reached the **Champions League**for the first time the next year, and landed themselves in the **Europa League**this season.
That position is not what the group wanted. But they are under the leadership of a mastermind in Europe, who has reached a quarter-final and semi-final in the last two years, while not neglecting targets in the league. Emery has won the **Europa League**four times, three in a row with **Sevilla**and once with **Villarreal**between 2014 and 2021. He would love to pull this off again in the Midlands.
*“It’s our goal to reach Europe every time. We’re happy to stay in Europe this year: not Champions League, but it is the Europa League, one of the main competitions. We want to go as far as we can.”*