Lucas Digne
According to sources, Everton will complete the signing of Barcelona’s French left-back Lucas Digne, for a reported fee worth around £18m. The player was on the plane with the La Liga champions for their USA pre-season tour, however, the club have now confirmed that the 25-year-old will return to Spain to complete his transfer to the Premier League club.
New Everton manager Marco Silva has made it pretty clear that he requires a quality squad with strength in depth. So the club are supporting him in this regard by spending money in the transfer window, which is due to close in 10 days time.
Digne has been on the fringes at Barcelona, playing very few games, since Jordi Alba is quite consistent in that department for the Catalans. Therefore, for the Frenchman, it will be an ideal opportunity to move elsewhere and play regular games to prove his worth.
The 25-year-old started just 8 league games last season, which is quite a low number for someone blessed with eloquent qualities. He is certain to get more playing time at Goodison Park, with Leighton Baines getting to the latter stages of his fantastic career.
Marco Silva will be pleased to have two left-backs of the highest quality, and with Digne being only 25 years of age, the manager can mould him to become a long-term successor for Baines. Everton will hugely benefit from the Frenchman’s attributes as a left-back and he will be a defensive wall for the Toffees.
The former Roma man is equally adept at impacting the game on both ends of the field. His pace, dribbling and passing skills are accurate enough to cause havoc amongst defenders. His tackling and interception rates of 1.8 and 1 per game respectively epitomizes the defensive part of his game.
Everton have often struggled to replace Baines whenever the Englishman gets injured for certain periods of time. Signing Digne will not only assure the 33-year-old’s replacement but also provide assurance for the long-term first-choice role. For the 25-year-old as well, it will be a fantastic opportunity to come out of Jordi Alba’s shadow and cement his position at Goodison.
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Hence, it is a dexterous and well-planned move for the Toffees to get a player who still has plenty of years left in him to perform at the highest level.
Stats Courtesy – Who Scored.com
