- 1 Nov 2024
Barcelona criticised with lack of patience over Digne by Spanish press
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 2 min read
Barcelona’s lack of faith in the development of Lucas Digne has come back to haunt them according to the Spanish media, with the Frenchman continuing to produce excellent performances in the Premier League with Everton.
The Blaugrana parted with £13.8 million (€16.5m) in the summer of 2016 to sign Digne from Paris Saint-Germain in order to provide competition and cover for starting left-back Jordi Alba.
He would go on to make just 24 starts in La Liga over the course of two years, recording no goals and just two assists in the league over his two-year spell.
With Alba regularly selected ahead of him, there was the feeling that Digne’s development was being held back, or that he simply wasn’t up to the task at Barcelona.
That made the Camp Nou side happy to sell him to Everton in the summer of 2018 for a €4m profit. At that time, Barca were keen to trim down their squad, and Digne was one of the victims who was allowed to leave without much fanfare after his asking price was met by the Toffees.
Digne coming good at Everton
Digne had a point to prove at Goodison Park, and has indeed established himself as one of the most productive left-backs in the Premier League.
In the 2020/21 season, he has six assists to his name and averages 0.36 assists per 90 minutes which is the best ratio of any full-back in the division.
Only Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw, and Aaron Creswell have created more ‘Big Chances’ than Digne from full-back positions.
With every positive performance comes another barb aimed at Barcelona for perhaps allowing Digne to leave too early, and that the Blaugrana could certainly be doing with his services at the moment.
Everton recently tied Digne down to a new long-term contract to warn off any suitors.
“With Digne there is the umpteenth case of Barca showing a lack of patience with a player and appreciating his talent when we no longer have him.”
Clearly the Spanish press believes Digne is a player who could have and should have been allowed to make a bigger impact at the Camp Nou.
