Digne injury may force change in Everton transfer strategy

Will the news that left-back Lucas Digne is injured and faces months out, force Everton to revise their January transfer window strategy?

Everton fans are still digesting the news that Digne is now out for a number matches during the crucial Christmas and New Year period and what that will mean for the outcome of the season.

His long-term absence might now force the Toffees hierarchy to change their January transfer strategy and move for additional cover in the short-term. The Blues had to do this in the summer and sign Ben Godfrey when Mason Holgate picked up a pre-season injury that ruled him out until just a few weeks ago.

Ever since Leighton Baines surprisingly retired at the end of last season, there has been a question mark about who can provide back-up to Digne.

The club took a chance that he would stay fit as he has for most of his career so far at Goodison Park. But of course he has now got injured exposing the lack of experienced cover in that position.

Young Niels Nkounkou certainly has plenty of talent and has shown a lot of promise in the Carabao Cup games he’s played. But he’s only had about seventy minutes of Premier League football so it’s a big ask for him to step into Digne’s shoes.

Carlo Ancelotti has mooted the possibility of Alex Iwobi moving across to play left wing-back. That though would mean he is shifted from the right where he was so impressive against Fulham. The question then would also be, who fills in for Iwobi on the right? Complications for sure.

Obviously whether Everton go into the market for a new left-back will depend on the length of the senior man’s absence and the performances of Nkounkou or whoever else fills in. If Digne is able to make a quicker recovery than expected at the moment and/or his young compatriot rises to the challenge, then the answer is probably not.

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However, if the prognosis of possibly three months out are accurate, then the Blues might have no choice but to bring in another left-back – perhaps on loan – to cope with the relentless set of fixtures and resulting fatigue during December and January.

Even if Nkounkou does excel over the next few weeks, there’s no one to back him up now and given Everton’s terrible luck with injuries I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets hurt too!

If the club did move for another defensive reinforcement that would complicate other plans. The Toffees have been linked with a host of attacking targets, particularly Real Madrid’s Isco and Lazio’s Luis Alberto. Bringing in a left-back might prevent those other deals being done.

So who could they get in January? The Blues would obviously want an experienced, quality left-back, but of course such players are very much at a premium. That’s why Everton were so keen to get Baines to sign another one-year deal last season.  ‘

Perhaps the type of player the club would be looking at then is someone like Charalampos Lykogiannis. The Greek left-back who is currently at Cagliari, is very solid defensively and might be available for a small fee or even on loan.

Anaitz Arbilla the Eibar defender is another possible option. Again he’s strong defensively and experienced, which would be the priority for another player coming as short-term cover. He can also play across the backline, but seems to be at his best playing left-back.

This is all just a bit of speculation at the moment. Hopefully Nkounkou or someone else can deliver and Digne will recover faster than expected and be back in contention by mid to late January. If not, then Everton might be forced to bring in another left-back quickly in the new year.