Digne leaves Barcelona’s tour for Everton talks ahead of £18m move

Lucas Digne has been given permission by Barcelona to travel for talks with Everton ahead of his proposed £18million transfer to the Premier League. 

The La Liga giants confirmed on Sunday night that Digne had left the club’s summer tour to the United States to seal his move away.

In a tweet posted on their official account, Barcelona said Digne would travel back to the Spanish city, where he will meet Everton officials for discussions on his future.

Digne (left) has been allowed to leave Barcelona’s summer tour to have talks with the Blues

New Blues manager Marco Silva wants to play with three centre backs next season and sees Digne as a fitting replacement for Leighton Baines. 

As reported by Sportsmail earlier this week, Everton director of football Marcel Brands had travelled to Barcelona to continue negotiations for Digne and Colombia international Yerry Mina.

Now, following positive talks between the two clubs, Digne is on the verge of joining Richarlison as a summer recruit to Merseyside.  

New Everton boss Marco Silva is looking to add to his squad before the start of the new season

Yerry Mina is also a target for Everton but they face competition for the defender’s signature

Mina, meanwhile, remains a target for the Blues. The Colombian is surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp but drew plenty of admiring glances with his dominant displays at the World Cup. 

Everton have made an offer in excess of £27m for Mina, but are facing competition from an unnamed Premier League club for his signature. Any bidding war with a rival could drive the price up further.

Similar to last season, in which £180m was spent in transfers, Everton have backed Silva in the transfer market as they look to break into the Premier League’s top six. 

Richarlison became the latest addition after agreeing a £44m move from Watford, sealing a substantial profit for the selling club after they paid just £11m to sign him last summer.