Everton left-back and French international Lucas Digne has claimed that he rejected a move to Merseyside rivals Liverpool on two separate occasions.
Former Barcelona defender Lucas Digne, who joined Everton in the summer transfer window, has insisted that he snubbed a chance to join the Toffees’ cross-town rivals Liverpool twice.
Digne signed for Everton from reigning La Liga champions Barcelona in the summer for a fee worth £18 million rising to £20 million on a five-year-deal. However, the 25-year old was thought to be a Liverpool fan, due to a tattoo on his chest that reads “I never walk alone.”
The Frenchman had gone on to rubbish those claims last month, stating that his tattoo had nothing to do with football and that he had rejected a move to Anfield in the past. And he has now gone onto reassure Everton fans once again, by reiterating his earlier statements that he is not a Reds’ supporter.
Speaking in an interview with the Mirror, Digne said: “I can tell you that I said ‘no’ to Liverpool twice – because it’s true. Everton fans have sent me a lot of messages on Twitter about it. It was a good start for me here, but I am only telling the truth.
“The first time Liverpool asked about me was when I was a young boy and I went to Paris from Lille. The second time was when I went to Barcelona.”
Lucas Digne fires back at Liverpool fans regarding his ‘I never walk alone’ chest tattoo ? pic.twitter.com/c5uwqamlta
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) August 3, 2018
The 25-year old came through the Lille youth ranks and having made a strong impression in the first-team very early in his career, he was snapped up by Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2013. And Liverpool are believed to have made an attempt to land Digne at the time, but were snubbed by the Frenchman.
After two seasons with PSG, Digne had a season-long loan spell at AS Roma in the 2015-16 campaign, following which the Reds are understood to have tried to sign him once again, only for the the left-back to reject their advances and instead join Barcelona.
The 21-time capped French international’s time at Barcelona wasn’t all rosy as he struggled for game time at Camp Nou, playing second-fiddle to first-choice left-back Jordi Alba. He made 46 appearances for the Catalans across two seasons, scoring two and setting up three goals.
Since joining Everton in the summer, Digne finds himself competing with experienced defender Leighton Baines for a starting berth. The 25-year old has featured four times for the club in all competitions, chipping in with two assists in the process and will be hoping to establish himself as the first-choice left-back under Marco Silva.
