Olympique Lyonnais are eying a January deal to take Everton defender Lucas Digne back to Ligue 1, according to Le Parisien via Sport Witness.
Director of Football Juninho is planning to secure transfers of players that will be able to settle in relatively quickly at the Groupama Stadium, in the hopes of reviving Lyon’s season after a turbulent start to the campaign.
Defeat at home to Stade Rennais on Sunday left Rudi Garcia’s side eighth in the French top-flight standings and 17 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who have a game in hand.
Digne is believed to be one of the players on Juninho’s January shopping list, along with Atletico Madrid winger Thomas Lemar and Galatasaray’s Steven N’Zonzi, who have gained the backing of certain Lyon decision-makers.
Lyon have the financial clout to take some necessary risks in the winter window to save their campaign, having also lost influential striker Memphis Depay and summer signing Jeff-Reine Adelaide for the foreseeable during the Rennes clash, with both players sustaining Cruciate Knee Ligament damage.
Everton chiefs would be sure to demand a hefty sum if Lyon are to prise our star left-back out of Goodison Park, having reportedly slapped a £70million asking price on the Frenchman signed from FC Barcelona for £18m in August 2018.
The club are also keen to tie Digne’s future to Merseyside with a new, improved contract despite his current £90,000-per-week deal running to 2023.
What would you deem an acceptable fee for Digne?
£25-50m
£50-70m
£70-90m
Priceless
Digne last played in the French top-flight in May 2015 while still on the books of PSG, before a loan spell with AS Roma and transfer to FC Barcelona preceding his arrival at Goodison Park.
The 26-year-old has made 56 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, including starting roles in all 17 of our Premier League fixtures thus far this season.
As well as struggling domestically, Lyon only narrowly progressed from the Champions League Group Stage on eight points, having taken just one more point than Europa League-bound SL Benfica and bottom-placed Zenit St. Petersburg.
In other Everton news, a 24-cap Toffees star has received heaps of praise from a leading pundit for his performance at Old Trafford.