Everton Reportedly Set to Raid Barcelona for Defensive Duo
By Tom Power
Toffees linked with double swoop for Catalan giants’ defensive pair Mina & Digne
Everton are reportedly eyeing blockbuster summer swoops for Barcelona duo Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina.
The Toffees have already been linked with Mina extensively for the past week as talks continue over a possible £21m deal.
And now renowned football journalist Paul Joyce has taken to his personal Twitter account to claim that Everton want to bring full-back Digne to Goodison Park as well as his club teammate.
Joyce is the Times newspaper’s Northern Football Correspondent and has exceptional ties on Merseyside following his time at the Liverpool Echo.
Whenever he reveals transfer rumours on social media it usually means that the story – or stories – have legs.
This latest reveal has led to anticipation levels rising among Evertonians as the Blues look to bolster their first-team ranks under Marco Silva and Marcel Brands.
The new Blues boss and director of football are hard at work identifying the right targets to sign in the close season.
And, in Mina and Digne, Everton would have two solid defensive additions that would certainly improve their squad.
Mina starred for Colombia at the World Cup before they were eliminated by England in a penalty shootout in the last-16.
The 23-year-old only joined Barcelona in January but has struggled for game time at the Nou Camp.
He has been the subject of intense speculation over the past week with Everton locked in talks with the Catalan giants about bringing him to the Premier League.
And Mina may be joined at Goodison by Digne, a 24-year-old French left-back who would be a good acquisition for the Toffees.
Digne has featured 46 times for Barcelona since a £15m switch from Paris Saint-Germain in July 2016.
He has 21 caps for Les Bleus and is capable of playing at right-back or on the left side of midfield if an injury crisis occurs in Catalonia.
The possible arrival of Digne would finally mean that Everton would have ample back-up to veteran full-back Leighton Baines.
The 33-year-old will likely be phased out of the starting lineup slowly in the next few seasons as his career winds down.
Bringing Digne in would allow him to acclimatise to English top flight football and then replace Baines in his natural position.
Everton had targeted Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney, but were put off by his £25m price tag.
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If they can get Digne for a cheaper fee than that, and add Mina to their squad too, it would start to make up for a slow summer of incomings at Everton.