Brighton and Hove Albion defender Valentín Barco’s loan deal at Sevilla is turning into bit of a disaster, with the full-back not convincing anyone at the Spanish club.
That’s according to ABC, who cover the player today and how major defensive issues are stopping him from getting more gametime at his loan club.
The newspaper reports that the Argentine defender has found himself in ‘ambivalence’ at Sevilla since joining on loan from Brighton in the summer.
The recent low point was him finding himself as one of the ‘protagonists’ in the 1-1 draw with Athletic Club, albeit for all the wrong reasons.
The draw again saw the defender, who has played in five of eight games to date, drawing attention to himself for his ‘ambivalence between his defence and attack’. While he impressed in an attacking sense, he is ‘a real mess’ when it comes to defending.
It’s an imbalance that is costing him so far and ‘overshadows his contribution to the team’. And that’s not gone unnoticed by the management.
It was obvious that the Brighton man was the weakest point in the white and red defence at San Mamés, a performance that was reminiscent of his debut against Girona, in which he drew criticism for a goal conceded by his side.
His performance here, or lack of it, saw him pulled off at half time and Sevilla’s system changed to ensure they weren’t overrun, according to manager Garcia Pimienta.
“I would analyse the match in two ways,” he said.
“One in the offensive part, that ‘Colo’ Barco has been very good. On a defensive level we knew that Athletic would have opportunities to attack there, when you defend a little high it can happen,” he said.
“We have substituted Barco because we thought it was the best way to stop Athletic’s attack on that side, it has been corrected quite well. I don’t want to point the finger at anyone, because in the first half any player would have suffered a lot.”
