IF you found returning to work after the festive period a struggle, spare a thought for Lucas Digne.
Named in a strong Everton XI for last weekend’s FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield against a fresh-faced Liverpool team, the France international might have hoped that he would be in for a productive afternoon. Instead he was given the runaround by Liverpool’s 16-year-old winger Harvey Elliott, whose darting runs left Digne seeing stars and had Reds fans mischievously digging out tweets from Evertonians claiming their man was a better left-back than Anfield favourite Andy Robertson.
If Elliott’s torment of Digne was one of the motifs of Liverpool’s 1-0 victory, it also highlighted the extent to which Everton’s reigning Player of the Season has lost his way in recent weeks. The former Barcelona player’s game has become blighted by errors, while Goodison Park regulars have lost count of the number of his crosses that have sailed high over the head of their intended target or the number of his corners that have failed to beat the first man.
Lucas Digne. Why?
Last season, one of the highlights. A player to build off. A kids favourite.
This season, inconsistent. One of the worst players on the squad. Seems to me like a player ready to leave.
Where is the mentality at?
— Dec (@Djeczo) January 5, 2020
Having scored four goals in the league last season, Digne is yet to get off the mark this term and on the sole occasion when he has found the net, it was when his stoppage-time own goal condemned Everton to a 3-2 defeat at Brighton at the end of October. His poor form has prompted calls from some supporters for Leighton Baines to be restored to the starting line-up and there was a measure of relief when Carlo Ancelotti elected to rest the Frenchman for the 2-1 win at Newcastle on December 28, with Baines taking his place.
There are several potential explanations for Digne’s dip in form. One is the disintegration of his partnership with Bernard, with whom he formed an effective left-sided double act in his first season on Merseyside. The pair started 24 league games together last season, Bernard’s natural inclination to forage infield granting Digne the freedom of the left flank, but the Brazilian’s injury problems mean that they have been aligned at kick-off only eight times so far this term and only twice since the end of October.
Digne, who has stood in as captain at times, has also suffered from the upheaval in the Goodison dug-out, having had to adapt to the tactical instructions of three different managers – Marco Silva, Duncan Ferguson and Ancelotti – since the beginning of the season.
There have been fitness issues too. Forced off with a groin injury towards the end of Everton’s 3-1 win over Chelsea on December 7, Digne started the next game away to Manchester United a week later, only to find himself hobbling off with only 25 minutes on the clock. Interim manager Ferguson revealed that it was a problem that had been dogging him for “a few weeks”.
In an attacking sense, at least, Digne’s statistics stand comparison with those he produced last season. While he is still to open his goal-scoring account in the Premier League, he has already supplied three assists, which is only one less than his tally for the entirety of his maiden Everton campaign. According to data from Opta, his crossing frequency is down – from 5.0 crosses per 90 minutes in the league last season to 4.5 crosses per 90 minutes this term – and he is also playing fewer passes, but he is creating more chances per game both from open play (2.4 compared to 2.2) and from set pieces (1.26 compared to 0.97).
Digne our best player last season has struggled big time this season but no player has had a good season. No player can hold their heads up high. Some have been good in small spells thats it. I am prepared to stand by Digne as I believe he is a decent but Baines should get a run
— UTFT ⚽️ (@DockMoore) January 5, 2020
Reports that emerged from France at the end of December suggested that Digne was set to become the subject of a January offer from Lyon, but their interest is believed to have cooled in light of winger Maxwel Cornet’s successful redeployment at left-back during Youssouf Koné’s absence through injury.
It has been five years since Digne last played club football in France, but he has remained on the radar in his homeland due to his performances for the national team. The former Paris Saint-Germain player was bitterly disappointed to miss out on France’s triumph at the 2018 World Cup, having been part of the national squad at both the 2014 tournament and Euro 2016, but he has since made a successful return to the international fold, taking his number of caps up to 30.
The 26-year-old started three of France’s last five Euro 2020 qualifiers, notably impressing in October’s 1-0 win over Iceland in Reykjavík, and has moved above Benjamin Mendy and Ferland Mendy to become national coach Didier Deschamps’s preferred alternative to first-choice left-back Lucas Hernández, who has been struggling with injury problems of his own. If Euro 2020 kicked off tomorrow, Digne would probably be in the world champions’ starting XI.
For all his recent struggles, it seems likely that Digne will be just as integral to Ancelotti’s plans with Everton, having started three of the new manager’s four games at the helm to date. The 1-0 home win over Burnley on Boxing Day gave an early indication as to how the Italian intends to use Digne and his fellow French full-back Djibril Sidibé, with both players pushed high up the pitch in attacking wing-back roles.
From Paolo Maldini to Philipp Lahm, via Ashley Cole, Maxwell and Marcelo, Ancelotti has worked with some of the finest left-backs in modern football history. Everton fans don’t expect Digne to transform into any of them, but if he could transform into the player he was last season, it would be a start.
