The ‘real problem’ with signing Leicester City player revealed, and it’s no surprise

After weeks of Vicente Iborra to Sevilla rumours in the Spanish media, the club’s sporting director this week looked to shut them down.

Joaquín Caparrós, the club’s director of football, was quoted as saying: “We know him, but it’s complicated because when they leave they do it for economic reasons, and when they return they want contracts of a certain duration that can raise the average age too much.”

But Estadio Deportivo, Sevilla’s local sport newspaper, aren’t accepting the potential return transfer is dead.

With a headline stating ‘The real problem with Iborra’, it’s explained Caparrós ‘does not see his signing clearly’, and then they add ‘That is to say, he sees clearly his arrival in January, but not his later signing’.

Basically, Sevilla don’t want to pay Iborra the wages he currently earns at Leicester City.

Despite the quotes, it’s explained the transfer hasn’t been ruled out. It would be down to Iborra to agree a salary reduction, or for Leicester to allow the player a return to Spain on a simple loan, potentially paying part of the wages themselves.

The likelier of those two scenarios is surely a salary reduction, but if that leads to a permanent deal then it brings the question of what kind of fee Sevilla would be prepared to pay.

This is all no surprise, the Spanish club have for years tried to force the cost of most of their signings down, whether through pressure on player or club.