The Athletic’s Everton correspondent Greg O’Keeffe says ‘it’s not looking good’ for Lucas Digne after the defender was left out once again against Crystal Palace.
The lowdown
The 28-year-old was excluded from the matchday squad for last week’s Premier League clash with Arsenal after a disagreement with Benitez. ‘Tensions boiled over’, with Digne frustrated by the manager’s style of play and the decision to take him off set pieces.
There was no sign of the Frenchman in the 20-man travelling party for Sunday’s game at Selhurst Park either.
Digne, who joined from Barcelona in 2018, is now in his fourth season at Everton. He has made 127 appearances for The Blues up to this point.
The latest
Writing in The Athletic’s matchday discussion on Sunday, O’Keeffe acknowledged that Digne ‘clearly hasn’t shown the required attitude to change the manager’s mind’ as yet, adding that ‘it’s not looking good for him’.
His Everton future is now uncertain, and O’Keeffe told supporters that the defender is ‘one of our few saleable assets’.
The verdict
You wouldn’t say the door is entirely closed for the 28-year-old at Goodison Park, as a lot can change in the coming weeks and months.
Perhaps he can repair his relationship with the manager and gradually work his way back into favour, but there’s also the distinct possibility that a new left-back arrives in the near future given Everton’s desperate form – they’ve picked up the fewest points of any Premier League team (eight) over the last 12 games.
Either way, it’s hard to dispute O’Keeffe’s claim about Digne’s saleability. Everton’s former player of the season is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, the third-highest in the squad, so he could appeal to plenty of prospective suitors.
In other news, many Everton fans loved this transfer link