Everton reportedly withdrew their interest in Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, and are now pursuing Barcelona’s Lucas Digne instead.
The 21-year-old has been a revelation in Scotland and is set for a remarkably bright future in the game, after his first three senior seasons saw him win the Young Player of the Year Award all three times.
There’s also no doubt that Tierney would have been an ideal long-term replacement for Leighton Baines at Everton – although obtaining his signature was still a very ambitious, considering the hype surrounding the Celtic star.
At first it looked as though Celtic’s asking price was simply too much for Everton, but it’s now appears clear that the Merseyside club have merely turned their ambition elsewhere.
Reports in England with the Telegraph, as well as in Spain through Sport, suggest Everton are now looking to sign Barcelona’s Lucas Digne for a fee in the region of £14m.
Although Digne is seen as having less potential as a player than Tierney, the 24-year-old Frenchmen does have what the Scot sorely lacks at this stage – plenty of experience in elite European leagues.
Digne played for Paris Saint-Germain and Roma before joining Barca and he would be far more of a certainty for Everton.
Whereas there are still doubts over Tierney’s ability to step up a level – he’s yet to do it, after all – Digne has proven that he can cope at the top. He was also named on standby list for the French national team at the World Cup.
Considering Tierney’s age and a much-reduced fee, a move for the Frenchman instead of Tierney is looking like a very good business decision on Everton’s part.
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