Lucas Digne has proven to be an underwhelming addition at Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard should consider replacing him with academy prospect Ben Chrisene at the earliest opportunity.

Digne made the move to Villa Park from Everton in January but has struggled for consistency during his time with the Midlands club, contributing just one goal and four assists in 24 appearances.

The France international has failed to contribute a single goal or assist in his seven Premier League appearances this season, with WhoScored awarding him a disappointing 6.56 rating for his performances in the top flight.

Considering Digne is one of the top earners at Villa Park, reportedly receiving £163k-per-week, on top of his £25m fee, it is safe to say that the move has been a disappointing and expensive one thus far.

Gerrard's side have kept just two clean sheets so far this season, which also suggests that Digne isn't doing his job defensively, and a change might be needed if the Villans are going to realise their European ambitions in the next few seasons.

Fortunately, Chrisene could be the ideal replacement for Digne if the former PSG man continues to struggle for form, as the teenager continues to impress out on loan.

Birmingham Live reporter Ashley Preece shared his views on the former Exeter City man in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, suggesting that Gerrard is a huge fan of the left-back.

He said: “Gerrard raves about him. He’s come on leaps and bounds. He was part of the Villa first team for their tour in Australia in the summer.

“Villa think really highly of him and I think that loan move up to Kilmarnock, in the Scottish Premiership, will do him the world of good. He has already made a big impact up there and I thought he would anyway.”

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Chrisene looks to be a far more defensively sound left-back than Digne, as WhoScored suggests that he excels at aerial duels, interceptions and tackling.

He has also averaged more tackles (2.5 vs 2.3) and interceptions (1.5 vs 1.4) per game than the Frenchman so far this season, while is also dribbled past less (0.5 vs 0.9) which suggests that the 18-year-old deserves a chance to show what he can do as Villa's starting left-back when he returns from Kilmarnock.