Aston Villa transfer news: ‘Out of the question’ - Villans target explains why he stayed in Ligue 1

Courted in the last summer transfer window, Matthieu Udol stayed at RC Lens, with whom he is discovering the Champions League. The left-back has looked back on his summer.

Lens showed great foresight in the summer 2025 window by signing Matthieu Udol from Metz for around £3m (€3.5m). The 30-year-old immediately established himself as an undisputed starter down the left flank and delivered an outstanding first season, with three goals and 10 assists in 40 matches.

Matthieu Udol dreams of a France call-up

Those performances allow him to hope for a place in the France squad. For the moment, the Lens man has never been called up, but he continues to believe. ‘At the start of last season, it was not at all in my head. But the individual and collective performances made it become a possibility’ - he said in an interview with L’Equipe.

‘Today, with the Champions League, my status has evolved again. There is also an opportunity, given the competition, to find a place in this team’ - he believes.

‘It has become an objective, but I do not feel any pressure because I am also aware of where I come from. If it happens, it will be great. If not, it will not be a regret, just a shame because I would not have been far away.’

Lens turned away Aston Villa for Matthieu Udol

His 2025-26 season could also have earned him a move to a bigger club in the last transfer window. Matthieu Udol was courted. Lens notably rejected an offer from Aston Villa. The left-back has looked back on the summer approaches.

‘You tell yourself that it is the culmination of years of work, and you are proud of it. Then it makes you want to push the cursor as high as possible, still with Lens.'

'The club was not at all open to the possibility of a departure, and personally, I knew I had a Champions League waiting for me here, in an environment where I feel very good’ - he told L’Equipe.

Even if Lens had made Udol untouchable, the left-back himself might not have closed the door on every proposal. ‘If a big team that plays in the Champions League every year had come with an exceptional proposal, maybe it would have made me think, but missing out on that was out of the question’ - he said.

Matthieu Udol therefore stayed at Lens, where he continues to perform with a dream transfer perhaps in the back of his mind.