The situation had become untenable and might not go on. It was inevitable. Last Tuesday Rafael Benitez, the coach of Everton, revealed that Lucas Digne had asked to leave the club. The 28-year-old French international was no longer in the plans of his coach. He hadn’t played a single game since the Mersey derby, lost in early December once morest the Liverpool Reds in the Premier League.
The English press had cited as possible avenues for the player the clubs of Newcastle, Chelsea or Inter Milan. Finally the suspense ended this Thursday morning. Eager to relaunch eleven months before the 2022 World Cup, the 28-year-old international has signed up with Aston Villa, the club coached by Steven Gerrard. “I am happy to be there, there is a great project,” Digne said on the social networks of his new club.
The amount of the transfer has not been disclosed but it amounts to around 30 million euros, according to an estimate by several British media. Until last year, Digne was an indispensable part of Everton, where he wore the captain’s armband on several occasions and played 127 games. He even extended his contract until June 2025.
But the situation of the former left side of Lille, Paris SG, AS Rome and FC Barcelona had deteriorated recently. Rafael Benitez has criticized him in particular for being more interested in “his personal statistics” than in the club’s classification, only 15th at mid-season.
“Everything must have an end. But I just didn’t expect it to end this way, the Frenchman wrote in an Instagram post even before his transfer was official. What happened and some things that were said regarding me over the past month made me very sad. But I won’t get into a war of words with anyone. The club don’t deserve this, the fans don’t deserve this and to be honest I don’t think I deserve it either. “
14th in the English Championship, Aston Villa “jumped at the opportunity”, as Steven Gerrard acknowledged on the Birmingham club website. “Recruiting a player of this pedigree and quality during the January transfer window is a great addition for our team and his arrival excites me, like everyone connected with Aston Villa,” said the former player and Liverpool captain. .
This is another nice blow in this winter transfer window for Aston Villa, which has already attracted Brazilian attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan, down at FC Barcelona. Lucas Digne (43 caps) is one of the players most often called by Didier Deschamps since 2018: if he had not participated in the World Cup won by the Blues in Russia, he was however selected for the Euro last summer. The left side is one of the executives who should compete in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar next winter.