Among the very experienced Lille players who’ll be facing Aston Villa in the Conference League’s quarter-finals tonight, there’s their number 10, Remy Cabella.
The midfielder, who played for several big clubs in France, also had some experience in the Premier League, where he featured for Newcastle United. And that’s today recalled in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe.
Quizzed about his return to England, Cabella pointed out that the atmosphere they’ll face at Aston Villa won’t be the same as he used to see from Newcastle United fans.
The midfielder recalled the great feeling he used to have when playing at St. James’ Park, and is not expecting something similar when facing Unai Emery’s side tonight.
“We deserve it. It’s going to be a big match, like the Champions League. But Aston Villa, apart from their pitch which was a billiards table, I don’t have many memories of it. It won’t be like Newcastle, where we had perhaps the biggest atmosphere in England, in a black and white stadium,” said Mannone.
Cabella joined Newcastle in a €10m move from Montpellier in 2014.
He stayed at the club for just one season, unable to settle in English football. First he left on a season-long loan to Marseille, and then prolonged his stay with a permanent deal for €8m. In his time with the Magpies, he had one goal and two assists in 34 appearances, and now has a fresh chance to impress some fans playing against an English club.
