LaLiga: N'Zonzi: "Offers to leave? I don't care about other teams."

When you look back over the career path of Steven N’Zonzi it doesn’t seem to indicate he would turn out to be one of the best midfielders in Spain. As a youngster, the three years at PSG aside, he changed club every year until he broke through at Amiens. An unfashionable second division side in France isn’t where most dreams begin but perhaps that instability at youth level helped keep N’Zonzi’s feet on the ground in a sport where so many get lost in the shuffle.

“The first three years after being at PSG were complicated. But there is a moment where you want to demonstrate that you can progress, you can achieve your dreams, and show those who didn’t give you a chance that they were wrong.”

After impressing scouts while at Amien, Blackburn Rovers swooped in to sign the towering defensive midfielder when they were relegated to the French third division. In his debut season he quickly established himself as first choice and was later voted ‘Player of the Year’ by the fans. He showed glimpses of that previous form in the following season but as the team struggled, so did he. After they were relegated N’Zonzi saw it as the right time to leave.

“[Sam] Allardyce trusted me from the first minute at Blackburn. A lot of people thought I wasn’t going to adapt. I’ve always been thin and they doubted I could adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League. There were doubts but I had three good years there and I progressed a lot.”

N’Zonzi moved to Stoke City for £3m and, much like at Blackburn, started extremely well and was talked up as being a potential star player. Things turned sour quickly though as he fell out with certain staff members and asked to leave. Under new manager Mark Hughes he reiterated his desire to leave despite coming into good form again. At the end of his third season, after rejecting the offer of a new deal at Stoke, he opted to join Sevilla for around £7m.

Unlike at his previous clubs, his first match in Andalucia was marred by a needless red card. For those who’d seen him perform in the Premier League it came as no surprise as his aggressive, physical style earned him quite the reputation in England. Over in Spain players are protected more and as such N’Zonzi needed to adjust his style in his new surroundings.

This came after a summer in which he suffered from Salmonella poisoning. This ultimately set him back a couple of months as he adapted to Sevilla’s style of play and the role which was required of him. However, to Monchi, N’Zonzi wasn’t a new name on his extensive spreadsheet.

“I don’t know if Monchi followed me when I was at Amiens but I know he was while I was playing for Blackburn.”

With Unai Emery, the coach at Sevilla when he arrived, it was a little more complicated. “In the beginning I had a lot of problems in my first four months here.” However Emery showed many characteristics of the model talked about at the club which is to care for the players and treat them like family. “Off the pitch I had some personal problems and I spoke to him about them and he told me about his problems too. It was a man-to-man moment and this helped me later give everything out on the pitch.”

“A year ago I sent him away from training because he didn’t want to train,” Emery told AS. “He came to me and said he wanted to leave. I told to him to take three days off, no one else would know, and to return on Monday. He wanted to leave because he wasn’t happy, he didn’t feel comfortable in the city. He came back on Monday and I asked him, “So?” and he told me “I’ll stay.” After that, from December onwards, he worked incredibly hard.”

There’s this obsession with football to say someone’s flopped if they move on to another side but I don’t get that with N’Zonzi. He went from the second division in France to the Premier League, to another Premier League side and then to an established LaLiga one. Where is the flop part in all of that? Constant progression is all I see.

When Emery left in the summer it made a lot of players consider their future, more so when Monchi signalled his desire to leave too. However Jorge Sampaoli made a huge difference when he got out on the training pitch with his new team. “Sampaoli is very close to his players, he even jokes around with them. There was a moment at the end of the [summer] transfer window when I had the chance to leave. He spoke to me and passed on advice beyond simply being a coach. That touched me and it gave me the added desire to leave everything out on the pitch for both him and my teammates.”

The progression seen from N’Zonzi is phenomenal. This isn’t the same player who stood out at Stoke City and Blackburn but a more complete, dominant general in the midfield. Monchi said when he’d watched him at Stoke N’Zonzi was the only one capable of playing football but was forced to fulfil the limited role of a traditional enforcer. Stick a boot in, bully the opposition and be a danger from set pieces. But Monchi knew he had much more to give and in Emery, and later Sampaoli, we’re close to seeing N’Zonzi reach his potential.

Speculation has surrounded his future with Barcelona, Juventus and various Premier League sides said to be interested in taking the Frenchman off Sevilla’s hands. It’s a sign of his development that those teams are keen but it’s also a testament to the environment he finds himself in. The perception of his talent prior to his stay in Spain was good but not great. Yet why move when you, and the side you play in, are moving in the right direction?

N’Zonzi signing a new deal at Sevilla today makes a lot of sense. Money is beginning to filter down to sides in LaLiga again and while he could earn a lot more elsewhere, I doubt he’d find a better place to play his football. When players leave Sevilla it tends to be with a heavy heart as the club, and city, is like one huge family. An increase in his release clause to €40m (from €30m) isn’t extreme but Sevilla have never stood in the way of a player leaving should they desire to.

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side and for N’Zonzi, he’s found a side that allows him to demonstrate more aspects of his game. No longer simply a combative midfielder he’s fantastic on the ball and key in both defence and attack. He’s got a real engine on him and when he isn’t breaking up the opposition’s attack, he’s on the edge of their penalty area looking to get on the scoresheet.

For a player such as N’Zonzi, who perhaps has never felt 100% comfortable at any club, Sevilla’s stance is refreshing and honest. Should circumstances change in the summer or the manager leaves, they won’t force him to stay if it doesn’t feel right.

Right now Sevilla are in the knockout rounds of the Champions League and remain in the LaLiga title race. There’s little reason to search for new surroundings. Although I’m sure N’Zonzi will return to England at some point it’ll be when he’s ready and not because someone matched his buyout clause.

“I’m happy at Sevilla, I feel very happy at the club, in the city and with this team. Were there offers? I’m happy, so I don’t care about other teams. My idea is to continue here at Sevilla, to improve and give everything to this club.”