Aston Villa were named as the biggest net spenders in the entirety of Europe over a three-season period back in 2021 and have shown no signs of slowing down ever since with the club ambitiously spending in almost every transfer window.

Over the last two years the club - co-owned by billionaire duo Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens - has splashed the cash on Deigo Carlos (£26m), Phillipe Coutinho (£17m), Lucas Digne (£25m) and a club-record fee set for Emiliano Buendia (£33m) just to name a few.

However, despite the intentions to build a squad that can compete for European football in the Premier League, the Villans have struggled to make their presence known which has resulted in a rapid turnover in managers with Dean Smith replaced by Steven Gerrard in late 2021 and Unai Emery taking charge 11 months later.

With new managers come new expectations, perspectives and philosophies which can often lead to players once considered nailed-on first-team starters quickly becoming bench warmers and the squad at Villa Park have experienced a similar scenario upon the arrival of the former Villarreal boss.

The most drastic and unexpected alterations Emery quickly made just a few weeks into his managerial term was the sale of Danny Ings with the manager sacrificing the striker to allow Ollie Watkins the freedom to reprise his best role up top.

However, one tweak that has gone under the radar - albeit much-needed - has been the signing of Alex Moreno, who has replaced Digne on the left flank and for good reason.

How much has Lucas Digne cost Aston Villa?

The left-back's controversial January move from Everton to Aston Villa back in 2022 was met with high expectations as the former fan favourite at Goodison Park only parted ways with the club due to his fractured relationship with Rafael Benitez.

A fresh start at Villa Park is exactly what Digne was looking for, but has not been the fairytale resolution the player would've hoped for and has ultimately led to him becoming a fringe player.

Initially, the move looked like it was going to be ideal for the Frenchman with 90 minutes played in 13 appearances over the second half of the 2021/22 season under Gerrard.

However, things started to go downhill for Digne after sustaining an ankle injury in September which left the left-back sidelined for 40 days, subsequently seeing his game-time dwindle significantly upon the arrival of Emery in late October last year.

Digne has not completed 90 minutes since New Year's Day and on the pitch has been disappointing on countless occasions which has led to him becoming the ninth lowest-ranked player in the entire Villa squad, falling out of favour with newly-signed Moreno taking his place.

Over 20 Premier League appearances, Digne has been unsuccessful in 92% of his dribbles and has failed to win 49% of his duels, as well as averaging just 24.6 accurate passes and losing possession 11.6 times per game.

Believe it or not, the 29-year-old - who was dubbed "poor" by analyst Luis Miguel Echegaray - is the highest-paid player at Villa Park, earning an astonishing £160k-per-week.

When you combine that with his £25m transfer fee - Digne has cost £34.7m in total over his 61 weeks at the club whilst averaging just 67 minutes per appearance.

It has already been reported that the club could part ways with the player in the summer, despite the fact that his market value has drastically declined compared to what they paid for him just 16 months ago - now worth just £7m according to CIES Football Observatory.

With that being said, there is no doubt that Digne has rinsed Villa over his short spell so far and if the club can find a potential buyer for the player this summer they should jump at the chance to not only offload him but free up the wage bill.