Digne hopes thriving at Everton will carry him to Euro2020

Sunday, 17 November, 2019





Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Lucas Digne says that he feels he is most suited to the Premier League after spells in his native France, Italy and Spain.

The French international was interviewed by Le Parisien ahead of his country's final Euro2020 qualifier against Albania this evening and he was asked in which areas he feels he has progressed most since arriving in England with Everton.

Digne stressed the physical demands and the pace of the Premier League together with the advanced role demanded of him by Marco Silva has having forced him to develop his game .

“I had to adapt quickly to the intensity, the physical impact, playing forward quickly and repeating high-intensity effort,” the full-back explained. “I am asked to be very offensive but this involves defensively many one-on-one duels because the matches are very open. This is the championship that suits me best.

“I have more fun playing every weekend. The hardest thing is to constantly play at a very high level. This is what happens to the big players. The key to this is to take care of yourself, to be vigilant about recovery, especially when playing two games in 48 hours like on Boxing Day. This mainly involves food and sleep.

Digne, was asked whether he was surprised to inherit the captain's armband for a few weeks at Everton.

“There was a list of four captains,” he replied. “I was the fourth so I knew it could happen even if the probability was low. It is a source of pride to wear this armband. I've only be at the club for a season and a half, so it's a great sign of confidence.

“Apart from in the France youth team, I hadn't ever worn the armband. It must be said that in Paris, Rome or Barcelona, ​​it would have been complicated!”

Digne's switch to Goodison last year hasn't been the only big change in his life — his wife Tiziri gave birth to their son earlier this year.

“There are more delicate nights than others but it is still happiness,” he smiled. ”If he wakes up, I'll go hug him even if it's 2 or 3 in the morning. But it brings me so much joy and energy that I am going to workout in great form at 8 o'clock.

“The balance of family life is essential to achieve good performance.”

Having missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia which France won, Digne hopes his club form will carry him to next year's European Championship finals.

[At Everton], the goals are simple: we must do better than last season. As an individual, it's the same principle. I look at my statistics, the percentage of duels won, the number of successful crosses...

"I was selected as player of the season [last year and] it makes me happy but these [statistics] are more concrete.

"The France team is the continuity of what I realise at club level. It's up to me to put all the odds on my side."

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