Rafael Benitez has claimed that Lucas Digne wants to leave Everton.
Digne’s prospects at Goodison Park suffered a nosedive after an apparent fall-out with Benitez which saw him making no appearances since December 1.
The Blues’ signing of Dynamo Kiev left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko last weekend further undermined the France international’s long-term future with the club.
Benitez named Digne among the substitutes for Sunday’s defeat to Brighton but did not call on him despite utilising Seamus Coleman out of position.
And the Everton manager alleged on Friday that the 28-year-old, who signed a new contract last February, is determined to seal his exit from Merseyside.
“I think it was very clear,” said Benitez.
“I want to ask the question to every fan and former players – what Peter Reid will do and say when a players says he does not want to be there?
“(We had) a couple of conversations. He told me what he thought. What do you expect the manager to do when the player is thinking about to leave?
“I will say again: the fans, former players. What would Peter Reid say if a player goes to the manager and says he does not want to be here?”
He added: “I’m a professional and I try to manage.
“Since my first day here, I know what the fans want. When you are not winning, it’s more difficult.
“But the reality is we need players who want to be here, for any reason.
“Talking about individual stats when the team finished 10th? It means nothing to me.
“We need a winning mentality, we need ambition and we need to do things in the right way.”