FROM all the Everton summer signings, and there were a lot, he was certainly not the most eye-catching one or the most sexy one either. A few people ticked a bit, even, at his 18 million pounds price tag. Others wondered if left back was really a position in need of strengthening, especially at that price, and if he was good enough in the first place too. Lucas Digne didn’t care so much at the time about what was being said or what was being written about him joining Everton last summer.
He was at Barcelona, stuck behind Jordi Alba and he wanted to play more. He also had always dreamed of playing in England. It was a league that had always fascinated him: the pace, the attacking spirit, the stadiums, the fans, the pitches. So he made up his mind quickly. Signing for the Toffees made a lot of sense so he didn’t think twice really.
Fast forward nine months and the Frenchman is in the running to be named player of the season by the Everton fans and by his fellow teammates. There has been his goals, following in Leighton Baines’ footsteps in the culture of Everton’s free kicks scoring left backs. All those hours practising with Lionel Messi after training at Barcelona to master the art of placing the ball over the wall and in the top corner are paying off.
Most Chances Created By Defenders This Season
Lucas Digne (58)
Kieran Trippier (45)
Andrew Robertson (44)
Ben Chilwell (39)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (36)
Patrick van Aanholt (35) pic.twitter.com/1YoBpcWrTo— Premier League Stat Man ⚽️ (@EPLStatman) April 17, 2019
The one against Watford in injury time to get a point for his team back in December (2-2) was very special. The one against Burnley gave a 2-0 lead to his team on the way to a convincing victory. And then followed an absolute screamer in that same game with a long range shot! No one has scored more goals than him from outside the box this season in the Premier League!
But it is defensively as well that Digne has impressed this season so far. His composure, his pace and the quality of his interventions have made him one of the best in his position this season in the Premier League. He has a lot of energy and the quality of his crosses is good too as his four assists in the league this season prove. He has been a revelation for the people who didn’t know much about him before he came to the UK. For the others, it is just the confirmation of his talent which had always been obvious ever since he started young at Lille. His moves to PSG and to Barcelona were maybe too big too early for him and he lost a bit of time there although he also says that he learned a lot there.
When someone says Robertson is better than Digne. pic.twitter.com/kb9sPg2yT3
— Everton Are Magic (@Efc_are_magic) April 12, 2019
What he needed instead of a top European club for now was an ambitious project where he could grow and continue his development. Everton offered him that. He believes that something special is happening on the blue part of Merseyside. In Marco Silva, he is working with a manager who is improving him and giving him all his confidence. The season has not always been straight forward for the club but Digne has certainly been a consistent performer. For a first campaign in a new country, he has showed no issues with adapting to his new surroundings which is amazing and quite rare. Instead, he has taken everything under his stride and got on with it.
The French international, who is back now in the France squad after impressing Didier Deschamps, is still only 25. He has already had a successful career but yet there is still plenty of time to do more and to achieve more. He wants to go higher with Everton. And wants to strengthen his place as a fan favourite. The Everton supporters love him even more since he revealed in an interview a couple of weeks ago that he had turned down Liverpool twice in his career before!
After all, the hardest bit for Lucas Digne in England so far has maybe been to get used to people mispronouncing his name. It’s a tough one for English people to say. The better he is, the more he shines and the easier it will be then for people to get his name right.
