---
title: "Alan Hutton says Newcastle signing Lucas Digne would be a ‘great start’"
canonical: "https://readnewcastle.com/2021/12/23/alan-hutton-says-newcastle-signing-lucas-digne-would-be-a-great-start/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Crippy Cooke"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2021-12-23T19:28:08Z"
modified: "2021-12-23T19:28:09Z"
---

# Alan Hutton says Newcastle signing Lucas Digne would be a ‘great start’

Newcastle United [have](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/ausfallzeiten/verein/762) Jamal Lewis, Matt Ritchie and Paul Dummett on the books who can play at left-back, but Lewis picked up a [hamstring injury](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-matches-jamal-lewis-22554125) which could keep him out for another month and Dummett has just returned to training following a long-term [calf injury](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-paul-dummett-back-22552805), so the Magpies will be short of cover.

Newcastle have [lucrative funds](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11678/12428222/newcastle-takeover-how-and-why-newcastle-are-on-the-verge-of-becoming-one-of-the-worlds-richest-football-clubs) following their [takeover](https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/pif-pcp-capital-partners-and-rb-sports-media-acquire-newcastle-united-football-club/) by Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, so they can easily strengthen in the transfer market when the January window opens.

United have been linked with Lucas [Digne](https://readnewcastle.com/2021/12/19/fans-on-social-media-say-quality-lucas-digne-would-be-good-signing-for-newcastle/) and Oleksandr [Zinchenko](https://readnewcastle.com/2021/11/27/fans-react-on-social-media-with-newcastle-linked-with-oleksandr-zinchenko/), but Alan Hutton believes the former would be a ‘great start’ to the Newcastle project. He told [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/pundit-is-sure-digne-wants-to-sign-for-newcastle-after-great-update-on-talks/): “Signing Digne would be a great start for that new era. Defensively is where a lot of Newcastle’s problems lie.

Hutton tells no lies. Newcastle are 20th in the [Premier League](https://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/England-Premier-League) for goals conceded (41), 19th for clean sheets (1) and joint-19th for shots faced per game (15.9).

He added: “They’ve played makeshift full-backs often this season – Matt Ritchie has played in there, for example. To have someone in there who knows the Premier League and has played an awful lot of games at a high level would be brilliant. He’d really fit the bill.

Digne has made [127 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/lucas-digne/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/126664) in all competitions since [joining](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/lucas-digne/transfers/spieler/126664) Everton from Barcelona in 2018, scoring six goals with 20 assists. He’s featured in [15/19 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/lucas-digne/leistungsdaten/spieler/126664) across the board this season but has been left out of the squad after a reported [fallout](https://theathletic.com/3003403/2021/12/08/a-row-in-spanish-with-benitez-in-front-of-team-mates-why-digne-was-dropped-for-arsenal-match/) with manager Rafa Benitez.

“If things have deteriorated with Rafa Benitez at Everton and he’s not going to be playing – as a player, you won’t be happy with that. It’s a risk because they could go down this season, but the bigger picture is the project they are building in the background – I’m sure he wants to sign for Newcastle and be a part of that.”

Everton set to sign Mircea Lucescu in January too, so Digne might be available as a result. Newcastle have the money to match his asking price and wage demands, so they might be able to lure him away from Goodison Park.

***[In other news, fans on social media say Newcastle signing ‘fantastic’ Niklas Sule would be ‘huge’](https://readnewcastle.com/2021/12/23/fans-on-social-media-say-newcastle-signing-fantastic-niklas-sule-would-be-huge/)***