Lucas Digne says it was speaking to Marco Silva and Marcel Brands that convinced him to leave Barcelona for Everton.
The French defender joined the Blues on Wednesday from the European giants in a reported £18 million move as Silva begins to mould the shape to his liking.
Other left-backs had been touted as Everton looked to finally bring their search for competition for Leighton Baines to an end but Digne was swayed by the new Blues power couple after a few months of interest.
Speaking at his introductory press conference, the 25-year-old said: “Everton showed a lot of interest in me during the last two months and when I spoke with Marcel (Brands) or the coach - Marco Silva - they showed a lot of interest.
“I said yes, it’s a very good project and I want to be part of this. For me, it’s perfect.”
The defender also admitted to the fact that the new Everton boss made his mind up whenever they spoke.
“I had a very good feeling when we spoke,” said Digne of Silva.
“I can’t explain the feeling but when you speak with a person, you know if it’s a good person or not and for me, he’s a good person. He said to me I have to play more, I am young and I want to play more. It’s perfect.”
Putting in a good word
There wasn’t just Silva and Brands to make Digne’s mind up for him.
Former Lille teammate Idrissa Gueye and French international compatriot Morgan Schneiderlin helped with the decision to swap Las Ramblas for County Road.
“I played with them for Lille and the National Team and they said to me ‘come, come, come, you will be happy here’ so I said 'ok, I’ll come',” added Digne. “I spoke with them maybe two weeks before signing.”
Whilst those two new team-mates will likely link-up with the new signing next season, it’s another that the 25-year-old will have to displace.
There has never been any real competition to push Leighton Baines for his place but Digne should be the man to finally usurp from the starting eleven.
“Yes, of course, I know him and everybody knows him,” said the new signing of Everton’s long-standing left-back.
“We spoke together and he’s a very good guy, he said to me ‘welcome.’ It’s so friendly.”
New look left side
Should Digne displace Baines, he’ll get to look forward to linking up with fellow new signing Richarlison on the left-flank.
That prospect excites the former Barcelona man who has already seen the Brazilian in action.
He continued: “I saw a little bit of him when he played for Watford and I said 'this guy is crazy'. He plays very well, he’s so young and he has a lot of quality.
“He’s quick, he’s technical and I think we can do some very good things together.”