Aston Villa are in advanced negotiations to sign Lucas Digne from Everton, with the left-back understood to favour a move to Steven Gerrard’s side.
The arrival of Digne would be a coup for Villa, as they appear to have beaten off competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham for
the France international’s signing.
Personal terms between Villa and Digne are not expected to be a problem. The Midlands side are yet to agree a fee with Everton, but it is likely to be between £20-25m.
Digne’s departure is expected this month after he had a public falling out with Everton manager Rafael Benitez over the team’s tactics.
Benitez revealed this week Digne – who has 43 caps for France – had asked to leave the club. He has not played since the 4-1 home defeat to rivals Liverpool on December 1.
Villa’s move for the 28-year-old is further evidence of their ambition under Gerrard, who helped to secure the eye-catching signing of his former Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho earlier this week.
Chelsea were also understood to be keen on signing Digne following Ben Chilwell’s knee injury, which looks set to keep him out for the rest of the season, but they decided against following up their initial interest.
Digne joined Everton from Barcelona in August 2018 and has gone on to play over 120 games for the club.
Rafa unconcerned by banner calling for exit
Rafael Benitez insists he is not worried for his future at Everton despite a banner in the away end calling for his exit during the Toffees’ 3-2 FA Cup third-round win at Hull on Saturday.
Everton’s victory was just their second in 13 matches, a run of form that has seen pressure rise on former Liverpool boss Benitez.
The rare win was not enough to spare the Spaniard from the fans’ ire, with the banner reading ‘Benitez get out of our club’ visible during the game.
But when asked if he was worried, Benitez said: “No. What I said before – the problems that you try to fix are coming from a time ago.
“It’s not that in the last three months we have different issues, so the issues are similar and you try to fix that.
“I have experience to do it. I will try to do my best. If some fans understand that, they will support the team. That is the main thing, to stay behind the team.
“If they don’t understand that some of them, it’s fine, it’s up to them. But I will continue trying to do my best, be professional and be sure that we can improve what depends on us.”
bet365 sport. To add to the In-Play excitement, bet365 stream over hundreds of events live to your PC every year. So you can bet as the action unfolds. See all upcoming sport events you can bet at bet experts. Highlights include Masters Series Tennis tournaments and matches from some of the top domestic Soccer leagues in the world. To use the Live Streaming service you need to be log in and have a funded account. Or to have place a bet in the last 24 hours. Any fixture/event on bet365 website and bet365 mobile which has the Play or Video icon is schedule to be show via Live Streaming. bet bg
Make your bet365 registration. Enjoy a unique experience with bet365 and bet365 mobile!
Our forecasts for upcoming meetings have been carefully examine and provide in good faith, but with no guaranteed earnings. We advise you to gamble responsibly and only with the money you can afford to lose.
✅ Registration at bet365 | Account verification | Deposit money | Sports Betting | How to bet | Live Betting | Watch Live Stream | Offers, Bonuses and Promotions| Casino | Poker
18+ | Gamble Responsibly | BeGambleAware.org
BET EXPERTS