January 13, (THEWILL) – Following up on Philippe Coutinho’s arrival, Aston Villa have signed left-back Lucas Digne from Everton for £25 million.
Digne, who is 28 years old, has agreed to a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Steven Gerrard-led club. He had three and a half years left on his Everton contract, but after falling out of favour under Rafa Benitez, he told the club he wanted to go.
Villa manager Steven Gerrard reacted to the signing by saying: “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.”
THEWILL recalls that Digne joined Everton in 2018 from Barcelona and has been a frequent starter for the last few seasons. He had a falling out with manager Benitez, however, and announced his desire to depart.
Digne expressed his dissatisfaction with the way things turned out at Goodison Park in an Instagram post prior to his departure: “Everything must come to an end. I just did not expect it to end this way.
“What has happened and some things that was said about me in the last month has made me very sad. But I will not enter a war on words with anyone. The club don’t deserve that, the fans don’t deserve that – and to be honest, I don’t feel that I deserve that.
“There are so many good and decent people in and around Everton who want to the best for this club and not only for themself – and to them I can only say from my heart: I wish you the best!”
Benitez stated earlier this month that the player was attempting to force his way out of the club, implying a rift between player and manager.
“He’s been very clear. I want to ask a question to every fan and former players – what would [Everton legend] Peter Reid say if a player comes out and says he doesn’t want to be there?
“That’s it – simple. I’ve had a couple of conversations with him and he told me what he thought so what do you expect the manager to do when a player is thinking of leaving?
“So I will say again, fans, former players, what would Peter Reid say if a player goes to the manager and says he doesn’t want to be here? He will be happy with this player? He will be supportive of this player? The fans will be supportive of this player?
“It’s what we have to consider, what we want to do in the future, we want to try and grow and improve? Or just manage the egos and then leave the team behind depending on the ego?”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
