Everton legend Kevin Ratcliffe has admitted he is concerned about the club’s ability to keep hold of summer signing Lucas Digne after his scintillating start to life in the Premier League.
The 5’10” France international [Transfermarkt] has become a mainstay for Marco Silva at Goodison Park and has scored three goals in his last four games to open his account for the club.
Toffees legend Ratcliffe has now hailed Digne for his impact since his £18million summer arrival, but revealed his worries about a potential swoop from one of the top-six.
In a column for the Liverpool Echo, he said: “Lucas Digne had a rare off-day against Spurs on Sunday. But great players bounce back immediately and that’s just what Digne did at Burnley with an exceptional display.
“He has been a great buy for the Blues and the problem might be keeping the big guns away from him. There aren’t that many top class left-backs around in the Premier League at the moment. Manchester United certainly don’t have one and he has quality in all aspects of his game.”
OPINION
Digne has certainly been impressive since his arrival from Barcelona in the summer, with the France international making the left-back position his own in no time at all. Replacing club favourite Leighton Baines in that position was a priority for Marco Silva in the summer, and he could not really have done any better with his decision to sign Digne. Ratcliffe has obviously been impressed with Digne so far, and rightly so. However, his concerns about losing him are surely premature. Digne has only just joined Everton, and will surely be happy at Goodison having made such a solid start to his career at the club. Obviously his form will be likely to attract interest from other clubs, but there is no suggestion that Digne would want to leave already. The club is on the up under Silva despite some bumps in the road this season, and he will be happy to be a part of that.