Selling one of their top players at the time was the old manager’s transgression.

Everton supporters have been reliving their fury over Rafael Benitez’s decision to sell

Lucas Digne after he was a star for France.

He was a great addition to Aston Villa when he was sold in January 2022 for £25 million,

but Everton supporters had to say goodbye bitterly because their problems started soon after.

After finishing in the top half on a regular basis and competing in European competitions a few years prior,

Benitez was fired shortly after, and they subsequently faced two consecutive relegation battles.

In anticipation of Digne’s departure, the team signed Ukrainian defender Vitalyi Mykolenko a few days prior,

but the two players’ profiles and general caliber are very different.

He has since handled 95 games and become a reliable defensive player.

However, Digne is currently playing well for both club and country.

He arrived from Barcelona and has been a member of the national team

for what is undoubtedly the best international team for the previous six years.

He helps out offensively and astounded supporters with two assists and a free-kick

attempt that caused Guglielmo Vicario to give up the goal as Didier Deschamps‘ team won 3-1 at the San Siro.

The primary distinction between the two is that, in contrast to Mykolenko,

who has only managed three goals and one assist in 95 games, Digne is a genuine threat in the last third.

In contrast, Digne has six goals and 20 assists in 127 games.

Mykolenko was by far the better player last season and is perhaps the marginally superior defender

(dribbled past less, made more recoveries, and cleared more).

And the fact that Benitez let him go a few years ago still irritates people.

“Selling Lucas Digne and replacing him with Mykolenko is one of the top five worst things

we’ve done out of all of Everton’s recent crimes against football,” one supporter wrote. What a player.

Considering that Mykolenko has demonstrated quality in the three goals he has scored,

his lack of attacking involvement will always irritate supporters.

Everton supporters are merely reflecting on Digne’s remarkable career and higher level and expecting

to acquire another left-back in the future who can contribute a similar caliber to what Digne did.