Lucas Digne signing shows Everton’s intent for the coming Premier League season


Reuters/JOHN CLIFTON

With the signing of Lucas Digne, Everton have immediately given themselves some credibility as one of the Premier League’s big guns.

Digne is just 25-years-old and has already played regularly for Lille, PSG, Roma, and Barcelona. The fact that the Toffees were able to secure his signature for the lowly fee of £18 million represents arguably the bargain of the summer. 

Marco Silva has pulled off a masterstroke and Everton fans should be excited about his signing, here are the reasons why: 

Undoubted talent

Look at Digne’s career so far. He played two seasons at Lille before earning a €15 million to PSG where he played 43 games in two seasons.

A loan move to Roma followed in which he impressed so much, that he earned a move to Spanish giants Barcelona in 2016.

He served as a fringe player for Barca, but did play 46 games over two seasons with the club and never looked out of place when he got into the side ahead of Jordi Alba. 

Reuters/ANDREW COULDRIDGE

Everton, therefore, have taken on a player with proven quality at the highest levels of football for a price that is surprisingly low - consider that they paid £50 million for Richarlison who had just one fairly decent Premier League season under his belt. 

This is a player that will surely be one of the first on the team sheet and, in the process, oust long-term Evertonian Leighton Baines from the side.

For the Toffees, Digne could represent their next Baines and run the left-hand side for Everton for years to come.

Silva pulling power

Would Everton have been able to secure Digne if they didn’t appoint Marco Silva this summer? While that is not a knock on Sam Allardyce who had a reputation for signing world class players when he was at Bolton, Silva has proved that he is capable of attracting star players to Goodison Park.

While the fee for Richarlison may have been high, they have been able to secure two of the best young talents in football this summer - Silva deserves plaudits for that. 

Reuters/JOHN CLIFTON

This also leaves some of the Everton players, who may have been considering their future after last seasons disappointment, with a reason to stay with the club.

Digne would likely have had many suitors this summer, but he chose to sign for the blue side of Merseyside - a telling indictment of Silva as a coach.

Where does this leave Everton?

While signing Digne represents a giant leap forward for Everton and their squad, they are still some way of being able to compete with the top sides in the division. 

Defensively, they still need a world-class center back and up front, they lack the Romelu Lukaku type figure that they desperately need.

Signing Digne gives them great depth at left back with Leighton Baines expected to be his cover, but the other areas of the team still need work.

That being said, Silva could get the best out of Ashley Williams, Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka - however, it is clear that they need another player in that position. 

Everton are in a position of nearly being good enough but the signing of Digne helped to close the gap on the big six in the Premier League. 

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