Barcelona Reportedly Offered £22 Million by Everton for Disgruntled Lucas Digne

Everton have reportedly made a bid in excess of £22 million for Barcelona full-back Lucas Digne.

According to the Mirror's David Anderson, Toffees manager Marco Silva has identified him as a long-term replacement for Leighton Baines on Merseyside and the club have offered €25 million plus add-ons for the Frenchman.

Barca want to keep Digne as back-up to Jordi Alba, but the 25-year-old is said to be "unsettled" after he missed out on a place in France's FIFA World Cup-winning squad due to a lack of minutes on the pitch.

Digne made just 20 appearances in all competitions for the Blaugrana last term with 12 of them coming in La Liga, achieving a total of 1,337 minutes of game time overall.

An unfortunately timed injury did him no favours either, per ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden:

The former Paris Saint-Germain left-back has struggled to impress during his time in Catalonia, though.

Grup 14's Rafael Hernandez was critical of him last season:

He was signed by Barca on the back of an impressive loan campaign with Roma, and if he can recapture that kind of form—in which he produced five assists and three goals in 42 games—he could prove a strong buy for Everton.

If they secure his signature, the Toffees will be hoping the move can reignite his career.

Everton are also reportedly making moves in the transfer market to secure Watford attacker Richarlison.

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According to MailOnline's Matt Barlow, the Toffees are closing in on a deal worth a potential £50 million for the 21-year-old, who notched five goals and as many assists at Vicarage Road last year.

Football writer Paul Brown and Bleacher Report's Matt Jones have their doubts about him after his drop-off in form, though:

The Brazilian could be forgiven for it considering his age, but he'd be an expensive and risky capture with the club banking on Silva helping him rediscover the level of performance he put in during the early months of last season.

Digne's uninspiring form at the Camp Nou also makes him something of a gamble, but he could cost around half the price and he can point to his lack of game time as a contributing factor to his drop-off, something Richarlison—who started 32 matches in the Premier League last season—cannot do.

Watford aren't likely to let a key player leave cheaply to a fellow Premier League rival—particularly given their icy relationship with Everton and Silva after the Toffees' approaches for him contributed to his eventual sacking in January—but it's difficult to justify paying such a fee for him even with the potential he has.