First, let us share our apologies as it feels the Brighton & Hove Albion player we cover the most at the moment is Valentín Barco.
He’s been box-office since he joined the Premier League club, but unfortunately not much of that has related to actual football.
The 20-year-old made a very controversial exit from Boca Juniors as far as the media around the club saw it. There were questions over who was advising him, doing harm to his future progression and moving to Brighton too soon just because it was a financially advantageous deal for the youngster and his family… and certainly not for Boca.
A struggle to impose himself in England saw a loan move to Sevilla agreed in the summer.
At Sport Witness we often make clear that all loans to Sevilla must come with a massive warning notice attached, because of how the Spanish club treats such deals.
If they sign a player with a purchase clause who manages to be brilliant for them, then every excuse in the book will be used not to use the buying clause. There’ll be negotiations to get the price down, and if they don’t get their own way then the player will be sent back somewhat bewildered.
Then there’s the case of loaning youngsters, with Alejo Véliz and Hannibal Mejbri among the recent examples of them just being cast aside because they weren’t immediately god-like.
Barco has also failed to make an impact. He’s had disagreements with the manager García Pimienta, the local media have suggested he thinks he’s better than he is, and there’s already been claims he could be sent back to Brighton in January.
The only reason they’d keep him is apparently finances, so just to use as cover.
At the end of last month the player both got engaged in Seville and was burgled in Seville. His wife-to-be has since spoken of her anger, suggesting a member of the couple’s staff may have been to blame and demanding action.
That’s caught the media’s attention and Pimienta, likely much to his frustration, has now been quizzed on it.
Estadio Deportivo quote him as saying: “Yes, it’s complicated. When something like this happens to you, you don’t know what to do. You go out for dinner or go for a walk and when you get back you find the house like this. You imagine what could have happened if you were inside. In the end it’s a material issue, but it creates this insecurity.
“Today he’s quite worried, I’m not going to deny it. He’s trained like that, but I know that the club was there with him at all times, helping him, encouraging him and for everything he needed. The group has also supported him today, he knows that he has us. Knowing that it’s a difficult issue to control, the Sevilla family is going to be with him and we’re going to support him in every way.”
Brighton will hope that support involves starting Barco against UE Olot on Thursday evening. Who? It’s a Copa del Rey match, and Olot are in the Segunda Federación, Spain’s fourth tier.
If there was ever an opportunity for Barco to turn his Sevilla experience on its head then this is it.
