Lucas Digne's Future Lies Away from PSG If He Wants to Save Young Career

As the Angel Di Maria transfer saga continues to rumble on, most of the future Paris Saint-Germain deals seem to be focused on who will be leaving the club rather than new signings. According to the Daily Mail, left-back Lucas Digne is a summer target for Liverpool and could see one of France’s best young talents leave Ligue 1.

In the space of two years, Digne has gone from World Cup winner and member of Didier Deschamps' 2014 World Cup squad, to substitute at PSG. In a team that also included Paul Pogba, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Kurt Zouma, Digne was a star on the left flank as Les Espoirs lifted the Under-20 World Cup trophy in Turkey. Yet, his career hasn’t kicked on as many expected.

During the current tour in north America, Laurent Blanc revealed, via the Independent (h/t L’Equipe), that Digne had expressed his desire to move away from the French capital this summer.

“First, it is he who very clearly asked to leave,” said the former France coach.

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“For now, he is with us, he is very professional, he trains very well and has prepared excellently. He has shown the results in friendlies.

“This is firstly a very good thing for him and possibly for us, should he stay with us this season.”

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It is clear that it is not PSG’s desire to see the full-back leave the club, but it is also very difficult to hold on to a player who sees his future elsewhere.

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During the Under-20 World Cup, the defender, then playing with French side Lille, was heavily linked with a move to Paris, but he remained professional, making it clear during the tournament that he was focused on helping his country win the tournament.

"I am fully focused on the World Cup," he told AFP, via Goal.com, "I've turned off my phone, I don't want to be preoccupied by anything.

"There is nothing [with PSG]. I am at Lille. But I do not know what will happen next."

After they lifted the trophy, Digne completed his move to PSG for a fee of around €15 million. At the time, it was expected that he would spend 12 months playing second fiddle to Brazilian defender Maxwell before transitioning into a starter for his new club.

However, the plan has hit a snag, mostly due to the excellent form Maxwell has continued to find for the past two seasons. It’s not that Digne isn’t good enough to start for the Parisians, it’s more that Maxwell has made himself a first-team certainty.

During both his campaigns with the Parisian club, Digne has played 15 times in the league, with only one of last season’s appearances coming off the bench. What certainly disappointed the defender more is that he only featured once in the Champions League—that came from the bench, and only for last four minutes.

From the player’s point of view, he just wants to play games and build on the early success he had at Lille.

After impressing for the second team—who play in France’s fourth division—Digne made his debut in 2013, making a late substitute appearance for Lille in a 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne. After a second stint as a sub against Bordeaux, he would go on to start 13 of the last 17 league games of the season.

Before the winger he left for Chelsea, Digne combined well with Eden Hazard down Lille’s left. It was his desire to get forward, ability to deliver an early ball into the box and his excellent left foot that attracted attention. His rise was so quick that he would start the next season as Lille’s starting left-back.

Digne, still just 20 years old, would play in 33 of Lille’s league matches, only twice failing to start when available. Still, it was in the Champions League play-off where Digne would make his biggest contribution to date.

Michel Spingler/Associated Press

With his club 1-0 down to FC Copenhagen after the first leg in Denmark, it was Digne who scored his first goal for the club to bring the tie level. Inspired by the left-back’s strike, Lille would go on to win 2-1 on aggregate and reach the group stage of the Champions League.

That is the level of competition and squad importance that Digne would like to get back to this season.

“There is a big possibility that he will leave on a permanent deal,” his agent, Mikkel Beck told Get French Football News recently. “Lucas is attracting enormous interest. I am working with Lucas and his family to reach a suitable resolution.”

When Digne has played under Blanc, he has done fairly well. It’s more a case of Digne being unable to gain consistency and an understanding within the team due to the sporadic nature of his appearances. Compared to Maxwell, he has not been at the same level, but the Brazilian has been so impressive, that is in no way a black mark against the 22-year-old.

The current problem that Digne has to address, is how is he going to find a way back into Deschamps’ plans for the European Championships in 2016. Although he was part of the World Cup squad, he has fallen out of favour, with Layvin Kurzawa of Monaco, Sevilla’s Benoit Tremoulinas, the evergreen Patrice Evra and Aston Villa new-boy Jordan Amavi all pushing for just two slots in the 23-man squad.

It’s safe to say that the four other contenders are all in stronger positions at the moment.

This also puts PSG in a difficult situation this summer. If they sell Digne, they will need to find a replacement. Someone who can play as Maxwell’s back-up, but who can also become their first option next season when the Brazilian is set to retire when his contract finishes.

That is the situation that Digne is in now, and if it wasn’t for Euro 2016, it would be easier for him to stay and play out the next 12 months, then take his chance. PSG will struggle to find another replacement as talented as Digne, willing to play second-fiddle.

Andrew Medichini/Associated Press

Beck mentioned that it would likely be a permanent deal that moves his client away from Paris, although a loan deal could be the best option for everyone involved. Let Digne play a season of first-team football, regain the form that saw his burst onto the scene, win his place back in the France squad, before moving back to the capital.

PSG could look for a similar loan deal to plug the gap, include an option to buy and then have the chance to see two full-backs fight it out for the first team.

Competition is great for a squad, it can help players push each other on and bring the best out of their play, but when the opportunities to take your place are limited to cameos in the least important fixtures, it can force you into a move.

If Liverpool are in the market for a left-back, picking up Lucas Digne would be an encouraging move and one that could see the defender return to his confident best.

If Blanc can somehow convince the former Lille star to stay in Paris just one more season, he will then have to find a way to give him more opportunities to play in the games that matter.