Barcelona are reported to be on the verge of signing Lucas Digne, the PSG owned left back. Digne, who spent the last year on loan at Roma made the most of his consistent game time to grow into an accomplished and widely sought after player.
According to multiple reports that include the usually reliable Sky Italia, Marca, and L’Equipe, Digne should complete a move to the Catalan giants soon. The transfer fee is believed to be around € 20 million euros including bonuses.
The 22-year-old Frenchman burst onto the scene with Lille as a hugely promising 19-year-old defender and was snapped up by Les Parisiens in 2013. However, he struggled to find consistent game time though he showed tremendous promise and composure. He and moved on loan to Rome on the 26th of August in 2015.
Digne went on to make 39 appearances in all competitions for Roma, cementing the left back position, a previous problem area for the team. He managed to chip in with 3 goals throughout the course of the season as well and was a very effective attacking outlet down the left flank as well.
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Roma had the option to purchase him for about €15million Euros but tried to make PSG lower their price tag by using Digne’s keenness to stay in Italy as a bargaining chip. They presented an offer of € 11 million euros according to Sky Italia and negotiations seemed to drag on.
Barcelona have now swooped in, and might even unveil the talented Frenchman with their other new signing Samuel Umtiti. Digne will compete with Jordi Alba for a starting place whilst veteran Adriano is expected to depart the club soon, possibly for Lazio.
Digne was a part of the France Euro 2016 squad but was unable to displace the experienced Patrice Evra from the starting lineup. Looked upon as the future of France at the position, the move to Barcelona might just be the latest chapter in an ascending career for the Lille youth academy product.
Digne is great in the air, comfortable in possession and hard to beat one-on-one and shows how serious the recent La Liga winners are about strengthening their defense.
