Former England striker Kevin Phillips has expressed his disbelief in the potential of Everton selling Lucas Digne during the summer transfer window.
Digne emerged as a potential target for Chelsea and Manchester City last month, as the two Champions League qualifying sides eyed cheaper alternatives to Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell.
The Foxes full-back is a long-term target of Chelsea, with manager Frank Lampard of the belief the 23-year-old can offer him the same level of consistent performances he saw from Ashley Cole during their time together at Stamford Bridge.
Pep Guardiola is likewise keen to add the England international to his squad at the Etihad Stadium, where concerns are ongoing over the reliability of Benjamin Mendy and the ability of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
But Leicester are expected to demand at least £75million to part company with Chilwell, and are unlikely to accept lower offers having held firm at £80m when Manchester United courted Harry Maguire a year ago.
Everton, themselves, would request a substantial fee for Digne though it is presumed to be lower than Leicester’s valuation, and could become subject to offers with the Frenchman boasting 30 international caps and two years of Premier League experience under his belt.
But Phillips would be at a loss to why the Toffees would part with Digne, and questions if Carlo Ancelotti can afford to say goodbye.
“I do not think they can afford to lose him, to be honest,” Phillips told Football Insider.
“He has done very well for them since he arrived. I would be very surprised if he was to leave the football club with Everton looking to move in the right direction and if you want to do that you cannot lose your best players. He is certainly one of their best defenders.
“I would be shocked if he was allowed to leave Everton this summer.”
Would you be open to selling Digne this summer?
Yes
No
Digne was a key player for Ancelotti following the Italian’s arrival on Merseyside, with the Blues boss only playing without the Frenchman at left-back in two Premier League games.
Ancelotti also saw the 27-year-old record four of his seven top-flight assists for the campaign during his tenure, with two coming either side of the enforced break and resulting in the Toffees avoiding defeats.
Everton won four and drew three league games in which Digne was involved in the scoring, while losing or drawing two of the three top-flight fixtures he played no part over the full term.