Barcelona have confirmed that Lucas Digne has returned to Spain to finalise a move away from the club.
Digne, 25, sat out Barca’s International Champions Cup game against Tottenham on Saturday and sources close to the deal expect him to sign for Everton imminently.
The left-back joined Barca from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016 but has played second fiddle to Jordi Alba during his two years at Camp Nou.
Despite that, he was enjoying his time at the club and was not expected to push for a move this summer. Barca, too, were happy for him to remain as Alba’s understudy for a third season.
However, Everton’s bid, which is worth more than the €16m Barcelona paid for him, was deemed acceptable by the Catalan club and the decision was left up to the player.
Digne had initially planned to stay put but the fact a lack of game time saw him miss out on France’s World Cup squad this summer changed his mind.
He will become Everton’s second signing of the window after the Premier League side signed Richarlison from Watford in a deal which could reach €50m.
After breaking onto the scene with Lille, Digne signed for PSG in 2013. Minutes were hard to come by in Paris, though, and he joined Roma on loan in 2015.
A year later, he was sold to Barca, where he had made 46 appearances and scored two goals.
Digne’s place in Ernesto Valverde’s first team squad is expected to be filled by a youth team player, with left-backs Juan Miranda and Marc Cucurella both with the club in the U.S. at the moment.
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