Opinion: Digne-Rose swap deal would be catastrophic for Everton but gold for Spurs

According to the Daily Star, Everton and Spurs are in discussion over a potential swap deal involving left-backs Danny Rose and Lucas Digne.

The Daily Star understands that Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to freshen up things at left-back in the summer and has set his sights on Everton’s Lucas Digne as a potential replacement for Danny Rose.

Rose is reportedly keen for a new challenge and the 28-year-old admitted last week that he wants to end his time at North London with a bang by winning the Champions League final against Liverpool. (h/t Daily Star)

The England international was a target for Everton at £40million last summer before the Toffees eventually ended up signing Lucas Digne from Barcelona. However, Marco Silva’s side are keen to get Rose on their books as a part of a swap deal, which could involve some cash adjustment in their favour. (h/t Daily Star)

Digne, who made his move to Goodison Park from Barcelona for a fee of £18 million last summer, has managed to make a big impact in his debut season in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old former PSG star has contributed with 4 goals and 4 assists from 35 appearances in the league this season, establishing himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, although Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson boasts of far more impressive figures.

The Frenchman was brought in to replace the ageing Leighton Baines and he has made that role his own, playing a key role for the Toffees under Marco Silva with a consistent run this season.

Quick across the ground, exceptionally dominant in the air and strong on the tackle, the 25-year-old has showcased his wonderful well-rounded attributes as a full-back. It is difficult to find modern-day offensive-minded full-backs with the perfect blend of defensive and offensive capabilities but it is pretty apparent that Everton have unearthed a gem in Lucas Digne. Not only has he consistently put in solid shifts at the back but the Frenchman has also contributed greatly to the attacking play in Silva’s 4-2-3-1 system.

Digne has shown what an asset he can to be any team with his ability to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third, having created a total of 13 big chances in the Premier League this season. Pace, agility, sharpness, eye for key passes and impeccable crossing abilities- Digne has proved that he has got all the ammunition in his repertoire to be a world-class left-back for Everton in the years to come.

Another thing that is worth mentioning over here is that Digne is a recognised set-piece specialist and his ability to create chances or score goals from dead-ball situations is comparable to the best in the world. The 25-year-old averages 2.6 aerial duels, 2.1 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 2.7 clearances, 2 key passes, 2.7 crosses and 1.7 long balls per game in the Premier League, figures which are awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Danny Rose, on the other hand, has failed to score a goal in the Premier League this season, although he has chipped in with 3 assists. The Englishman hasn’t been at the top of his game and has struggled for form and fitness in North London.

Although he is an extremely hard worker, who is always prepared to put in the hard yards for his team, Rose left a lot to be desired with his marking, anticipation and game-reading ability at the back this season. Normally, he is quite a solid presence at the back but he hasn’t been the same this season, while his final ball in the attacking third has often gone missing.

It would be fair to say that Rose has underachieved at Spurs for the last couple of seasons and his influence has gradually waned over the course of his career. At 28, one can hardly expect him to make any more improvements to his game.

To put things into perspective, Spurs would have a real gem in their hands if they manage to pull off this swap deal involving Digne and Rose and it is not difficult to see that the Frenchman would be a perfect fit for Pochettino’s system.

On the contrary, it would be really foolish on Everton’s part to swap Digne for Rose, given that the Frenchman is 3 years younger than the latter and he has outperformed the Spurs man by a long margin this season.

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To conclude, Digne is only going to get better with time and Everton would commit a massive blunder by bringing in the out-of-sorts Danny Rose. While the swap deal can be seen as a Pochettino masterstroke, such a move would be detrimental to Everton’s hopes of making a comeback to the European stage.