During the January transfer window, Loïc Badé was said to have rejected a move to Aston Villa after the Premier League club had agreed a deal with Sevilla.
Vamos Mi Sevilla report the fee was €28m fixed plus a further €4m in potential bonuses, and the Spanish club were happy to accept it, only for the defender to say no.
That felt difficult to believe at the time, given Sevilla were in a terrible place, both on and off the pitch, and Badé would have been able to join a better project in Birmingham and reunite with Monchi.
A recent interview perhaps gives a glimpse into the Frenchman’s thinking. Badé spent a loan spell with Nottingham Forest which turned out to be a complete disaster for him.
Speaking to L’Equipe last week, the 25-year-old was asked about bouncing back at Sevilla following his Nottingham Forest troubles, and suggested he feels much better suited to Spanish football than English or French: “Sevilla, and Spanish football in general, is a completely different way of perceiving football. It’s a great discovery. I was able to quickly absorb this methodology. I’ll give you an example: when we train in France, we arrive, we warm up, and we start the session. Here, we go in directly.
“There’s a central technical aspect. And then in matches too, we can play the last one in La Liga, they’ll try to come out short. Whereas in France or England, there are regularly low blocks, they go up front, with a more direct game. In Spain, no. That’s what makes La Liga so beautiful.”
Regardless, Aston Villa are being linked again, and in Seville it’s inevitably being presented as a battle between Monchi and Sevilla’s new sporting director Antonio Cordón.
Given Badé has now made his debut for France, Sevilla are said to believe they can ask for more than €35m. That may be considered too high for Aston Villa, who should also note the player’s comments about his style suiting football in Spain much more than England or France.
