Glen Johnson surprised to see Everton boss Benitez freeze out Digne
Glen Johnson has told BoyleSports he is surprised that Everton left-back Lucas Digne has not been playing much of recent for the club.
The Frenchman, 28, has been linked with a January move to Chelsea amid reports that he has fallen out with Toffees boss Rafa Benitez.
The Sky Sports pundit would love to see Digne move to Stamford Bridge, but he is convinced that the Goodison Park outfit will be losing one of their best players in the process.
Johnson said: “Lucas Digne would be a good signing, he’s a good player.
“For whatever reason he’s not playing under Rafa Benitez at the moment. He’s another realistic target. I’m sure he’d bite your arm off at the opportunity. He’s not playing as much as he’d like, so that would be a good signing and he can play both sides as well.
“Everton are a good side and they’ve got a decent squad, but Digne is one of their better players. Rafa has clearly seen something and he prefers the other options. But I am surprised he’s not playing as much.”
Expected
The former Barcelona man has been missing from the last three Everton squads, to face Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea, and while he has returned to training and could be available to face Brighton on Sunday (2 January), it remains to be seen whether he will actually be selected.
It appears that Digne has already played his last game for the Toffees, and they already have a replacement in place in Dynamo Kiev left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko.
The Ukrainian left-back is expected to be announced in January, and that should effectively signify the exit of the Frenchman.
Benitez will be hoping this is a decision that he does not end up regretting as Digne has been a constant attacking influence for Everton since his arrival.
Should he perform well at Chelsea and hit the ground running while his replacement on Merseyside doesn’t, the fans will surely bring out the pitchforks.
The Spaniard has not won over a lot of them since joining in the summer, and not many will be in support if he decides to let Digne leave in January.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are plotting January loan-to-buy bid for centre-mid hailed by Jack Grealish last month.
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