Loic Bade has opened up on the time he spent kicking his heels on the Nottingham Forest fringes.
In an interview with L’Equipe, the Frenchman has finally lifted the lid on his failed time at the City Ground.
Bade was signed by Forest in August. He was signed to inject some pace into the backline but left in January without playing a single minute.
The 23-year-old’s only appearance in the Garibaldi came during a friendly against Valencia.
For whatever reason, Steve Cooper didn’t fancy him. He played several combinations involving Steve Cook, Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna instead.
What makes it more bizarre is that Bade is now starring at Sevilla. He scored against Manchester United last week and has helped the team to the semi-final of the Europa League.
Now, Bade has lifted the lid. He suggests that he doesn’t really get why he never got a chance at the City Ground.
He told L’Equipe: “Complicated… It’s not like I played and wasn’t good.
“But, in the end, I got something out of it, it was a blessing in disguise. I had a lot of determination in me to turn this season around.”
Bade has opened up on Forest spell and he’s one that got away
It’s quite astonishing that during a poor run of form, Bade couldn’t get himself a single appearance.
He’s currently playing well for Sevilla and clearly, the Rennes-owned player has a lot of talent.
Bade is now catching the eye of other clubs too. It was claimed at the weekend that Tottenham are keen to sign him in the summer for £10 million.
Cooper will have his reasons for not playing Bade. One of the factors could have been the fact that he didn’t speak great English.
Forest have other players who can speak French, however, and if that’s the only reason, it doesn’t make a deal of sense.
Cook was favoured over Bade during the first half of the season. In January the experienced defender was left out of the squad making the situation even more bizarre.
Bade clearly feels something good came from his Forest spell but it’s hard to imagine the Reds feeling quite the same.
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