Barcelona have made three summer signings so far.
Barcelona left back Lucas Digne is looking for a move out of the Nou Camp soon. He has fallen down the pecking order due to Jordi Alba’s consistent form. Digne has had no real opportunity to even establish himself into the manager’s eyes despite working with Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde. He now feels his time is up at Barcelona.
Everton is the club that is now closing in on the France left back. The Toffees’ sporting director Marcel Brands had flown in last week from Liverpool to Barcelona in order to meet with the club’s and Lucas Digne’s representatives.
A fee of €22 million is expected to have already been agreed between the two parties. Two years on after signing Digne from Roma for €14 million, the Catalans will have made a profit of €8 million on the transactions.
The Goodison Park outfit’s new coach Marco Silva has been vocal about his intentions to sign the left back. The main motive of signing Digne is to bring in a replacement for Leighton Baines. The Everton veteran and vice-captain is now 33 years old and is showing stages of decline already.
Aged only 24, there is a huge scope of improvement for Lucas Digne. What is only needed is regular playing time. Being a regular at Roma saw him being called up for France in the UEFA Euro 2016, but lack of playing time cost him a place in the French World Cup squad.
As far as Lucas Digne’s replacement is concerned, Barcelona B product Marc Cucurella can be promoted to the senior team. The 19 year old has been instrumental for the club’s youth ranks since his days in La Masia and has also made appearances in the Copa Del Rey’s preliminary stages.
Lucas Digne’s exit will be announced next week. He has travelled to the United States with Barcelona but might fly back to Europe anytime now to complete his move. Frankly, each party involved in the deal is a beneficiary in some way.
