Aston Villa complete swoop for Everton full-back Lucas Digne

Villa
have
secured
a
deal
reportedly
worth
up
to
£25million
for
the
France
full-back,
who
moves
to
Villa
Park
on
a
long-term
contract.

Digne
becomes
Villa’s
second
signing
of
the
January
transfer
window
after
Philippe
Coutinho
linked
up
with
former
Liverpool
team-mate
Steven
Gerrard
–
now
manager
at
Villa
Park
–
on
loan
from
Barcelona.

Villa
confirmed
Digne’s
arrival
on
their
official
website
on
Thursday
and
Gerrard
added:
“When
Lucas
became
available
we
jumped
at
the
opportunity
to
bring
him
to
the
club.

“To
sign
a
player
of
his
pedigree
and
quality
in
the
January
window
is
a
great
addition
to
our
squad
and
his
arrival
excites
me
and
everyone
associated
with
Aston
Villa.”

Welcome
to
Aston
Villa,

@LucasDigne.

pic.twitter.com/7ytUV2Wn2M

—
Aston
Villa
(@AVFCOfficial)

January
13,
2022

Asked
about
Gerrard’s
influence
in
completing
a
move
between
Everton
and
Villa,
Digne
said:
“It
was
the
main
factor.
I
came
here
for
the
manager.

“I
had
a
very
good
meeting
with
him
and
we
spoke
a
couple
of
times
during
this
month.
I
feel
his
desire
to
win,
to
show
his
football
as
a
manager
–
the
attacking
football,
the
possession.
I
feel
it’s
what
I
want
and
what
I
want
to
show
to
the
fans.”

Digne
moved
to
Everton
from
Barcelona
for
a
reported
£18m
in
August
2018
and
had
been
a
fan
favourite
at
Goodison
Park.

However,
the
left-back
has
not
featured
for
the
Toffees
since
a
4-1
home
defeat
to
Merseyside
rivals
–
and
Rafael
Benitez’s
former
club
–
Liverpool
on
December
1.

Digne
had
fallen
out
of
favour
following
a
rift
with
Benitez
over
tactics
employed
by
an
Everton
side
who
have
won
just
one
of
their
past
12
Premier
League
matches.

The
defender
appeared
to
aim
a
parting
shot
at
Benitez
in
a
social
media
post
on
Wednesday,
stating
“sometimes
it
only
takes
one
person
from
outside
to
destroy
a
beautiful
love
affair”.

He
had
also
been
heavily
linked
with
Chelsea,
who
are
seeking
a
reinforcement
in
the
position
following
a
long-term
injury
to
Ben
Chilwell,
while
Newcastle
United,
West
Ham,
Inter
and
Napoli
were
also
credited
with
an
interest.

What
will
Digne
bring
to
Villa?

Having
replaced
Leighton
Baines
as
first
choice
at
Everton,
Digne
went
on
to
be
a
creative
fulcrum
under
Marco
Silva
and
Carlo
Ancelotti,
both
from
set-pieces
and
open
play.

Since
making
his
Everton
debut
on
August
11,
2018,
Digne
has
created
211
chances
in
the
Premier
League,
ranking
him
behind
only
Liverpool
star
Trent
Alexander-Arnold
(267)
among
defenders.

Digne’s
34
big
chances
created
is
the
third
most,
behind
Alexander-Arnold
and
Andrew
Robertson,
with
his
18
league
assists
also
only
bettered
by
the
Liverpool
duo.

Alexander-Arnold
(1,408)
is
also
the
only
defender
to
have
played
more
passes/crosses
into
the
area
than
Digne
(902),
highlighting
just
how
much
of
a
persistent
threat
the
Frenchman
can
be.

But
on
the
defensive
side
of
things,
Digne
has
proven
himself
slightly
more
reliable
in
the
tackle
than
Alexander-Arnold
and
Robertson,
with
the
former
Paris
Saint-Germain
full-back
boasting
a
better
success
rate
(63.2
per
cent)
than
both
in
such
situations.

That
also
translates
to
his
duels
involvement,
with
Aaron
Wan-Bissaka
and
Charlie
Taylor
the
only
full-backs
(minimum
50
games
played)
to
have
a
better
duel
success
rate
than
Digne’s
59.4
(712/1,199)
since
the
Everton
man
made
his
Premier
League
debut.

Matt
Targett
will
likely
lose
his
place
to
Digne,
who
even
in
a
more
restricted
attacking
role
has
still
created
1.7
chances
per
90
minutes
this
season,
compared
to
Targett’s
1.3.

Digne’s
1.5
tackles
is
also
an
improvement
on
Targett’s
1.1,
though
he
has
averaged
fewer
interceptions
(1.1)
per
90
minutes
than
either
Targett
or
Villa
right-back
Matthew
Cash.