2021/22 Lucas Digne

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murphy89 said:
I don't think we've ever replaced Barkley. Never had those numbers from CM (not a 10) again. I would take him back tbh, think he walks into our midfield if we play a 3 (on loan that is)
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Barkley on loan at Villa was the oddest season for a player I've seen in a long long time.

When he first joined he was an absolute Rolls Royce of a player, big part of the 7-2 Liverpool drubbing, winner vs Leicester A - and then he picked up an injury taking a corner and was - genuinely - a complete waste of a shirt from then onwards. It was like we were playing with ten men. I think he'd be great if he were to go back to you and stay fit IMO - the connection and the spotlight could fit nicely, as long as you could get over the way he left.
 

I still see this dragging on to the last minute where we end up loaning him because we need money so badly. We have no bargaining power here because everyone knows we have already spent the money we hoped to bring in for selling him, and that the player has no future under Benitez. Why would you not drag this out and wait for us to lower our demands.
 
Kev The Rat said:
Pretty much. I dont agree that he is personally responsible for catastrophic dips in form that have been seen under several managers. Only that he appointed them. If Ancelotti had stayed we would have likely been 9th or 10th again this season.
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If Ancelotti had stayed the club would still be in financial ruin. Our problems go far deeper than just crap managers unfortunately. We are being run into the ground as a business, it’s going to catch up with us.
 
jazzy said:
You seem like a nice enough fella so here goes.

1. When we first signed him he was excellent , especially going forwards. Adequate defensively

2. He wasn't terrible last season , but then again wasn't great either. His influence going forwards was lessened and in particular his delivery from set pieces was terrible

3.In line with the rest of the defence he has been poor this season. He has struggled under Benitez who reportedly told him to defend more and attack less. Digne apparently questioned Benitez's tactics and predictably enough Benitez ostracised him and engineered a situation where the fans turned on him. This allowed Benitez to sell him to free up FFP funds to bring in a couple of players.

In short Digne is not as good as he used to be. Will he get back to those levels under a progressive coach ( if Gerrard is that ) ? Who knows. It's a decent bit of business by us if you just look at the finances.

Hope that helps.
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I think that sums up the saga perfectly
 

Noble Savage said:
Yeah it's not that the egotistical bell left , it's the way he left . He's hardly spanked the EPL has he ?
Rom was a big miss and Stones struggled for a few season at City until he matured and became the brilliant modern defender he is now.
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The fact that Barkely is pony is the reason I haven't missed him to be honest.

Stones is a weird one, he'd never have developed into the player he is today had he stayed at Everton. We got really incredible money for him and he got to go and play for one of the best managers in the game to really hone his game, which took him a very long time to do. He'd have never been afforded that patience here because we are always a bad run of form away from finding ourselves in the mire.

Lukaku is far more black and white. He's a goal machine, no matter what side he plays in, and anyone who thought we'd be better off without him must have been sniffing cement.

I'd file Digne more closely in the Marouane Fellaini category. Very good player, given us their best years but the club needs to sell him to go in another direction whilst his market value is at its highest. Obviously the only difference is Fellaini left on good terms to go to Man United whilst Digne is leaving on bad terms to go to a club not long up from the Championship, 3 points ahead of us in the table having played a game more despite the fact it feels like we've lost every single game we've played this season.
 
murphy89 said:
I don't think we've ever replaced Barkley. Never had those numbers from CM (not a 10) again. I would take him back tbh, think he walks into our midfield if we play a 3 (on loan that is)
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We miss that type of player. We don't necessarily miss him, especially in his current guise.
 
Tin-Tin said:
Nothing against Villa, good club but ypu are only able to get him as he's actively for sale and no UCL clubs are in for him. Its not like you have unsettled him and pushed him to put in a tranafer request to join you. Thats not me having a dig by the way as it would be the same the other way around if one of your better players was in the same situation and we signed him. Neither of us it at the point where we can poach each others best players

He's obviously not a fan of Benitez and Benitez has alluded to him not being bothered about results or PL placing as long as his stats look good. Not sure who is right but doesnt matter now

Honest opinion, if you can get his 18/20 form out of him and Gerrard lets him concentrate on attacking then you will have a quality player. If you get his laat 18 months or so then he's nor an upgrade on Targett imo. Im not juat saying that as he's off. If you look at his thread before the falling out, then you will see a lot of criticism. Defensively never been the best but very reliable attacking wise with his quality (similar to Baines), however that quality started to drop a lot in the last 18 months.

Its a big risk at his age and for the fee but if Gerrard can get him into form, it will be a very good signing.
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Thank you - judging by what you've said, I think it's clearly worth the risk. If it doesn't work then he's still a saleable asset at 30 and 40+ caps for France, and we've got Targett as a back up in any case. We're extremely lucky with our owners right now being rich and wanting the project to succeed.
 

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