Lucas Digne return to Everton speculated amid deveopments at Aston Villa
Lucas Digne could leave Aston Villa and return to Everton this winter.
Digne left Everton for Villa back in 2022 and has since had a successful spell under Unai Emery in the Midlands.
The Toffees instantly replaced the France international with Vitaliy Mykolenko, who has been a useful asset for Everton ever since.
The 26-year-old has never been replaced in L4, with the signing of Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich not enough to shift him at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Digne could come back to add competition for Mykolenko four years after his exit, with the door potentially open for a Merseyside return.
Lucas Digne return to Everton assessed
Digne featured on Sunday as Everton secured a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, beating the claret and blue outfit for the first time since 2016 in the process.
The former Toffees ace was a second-half substitute as he replaced Ian Maatsen, who started and put in a largely positive shift at Villa Park.
It seems that the Dutchman is now Emery’s first choice left-back, so he could allow the Frenchman to find a way out of the West Midlands this winter.
Former Everton scout Bryan King has questioned whether Digne could return to L4 as the Blues eye a new full-back signing in January.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News, King said: “Everton have had decent scouting and recruitment of full-backs.
“The left-back playing for Aston Villa was at Everton, the boy Digne. Would he come back?
“Everyone always talks about Richarlison going back, and I couldn’t see that, but could Digne?
“Everton only have the league to concentrate on, but David [Moyes] still needs a big squad, even if it won’t be the biggest priority for them.
“They need some better squad players, so it will be interesting to see who they bring in.“
How has Digne performed at Aston Villa since 2022?
Digne may have dropped to being a squad player at Villa Park this season, but has been a virtual ever-present there since leaving Everton.
His form even saw him become a regular in the French national team and could see him feature at the summer World Cup.
| Premier League stats 24/25 | Lucas Digne |
| Appearances | 32 |
| Assists | 4 |
| Chances created | 36 |
| Tackles won | 65 |
| Duels won | 127 |
The full-back has clocked up 16 goal involvements over the years in B6 and made over 90 appearances across all appearances in the past two seasons.
That sort of experience could prove to be massive for Moyes’ side this season, especially having lost Jack Grealish for a potentially lengthy period.
It would be interesting to know whether Villa would agree to an exit, so the rest of the winter window could feature conversations over a deal.
Stay up to date this winter with our Everton transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Hill Dickinson, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.