‘I’m in from the dark’ – Loïc Badé evokes difficult stint at Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Loïc Badé (25) has just recently made his first appearance for the France national team. It has been a long journey to reach this point. He was always sold as one of the brightest defensive prospects when coming through the academy system, firstly at Le Havre AC and then at RC Lens.

However, at Stade Rennais, following a €17m move in 2021, his progress stalled. A loan move to Nottingham Forest in 2022 did not help him get his career back on track either. In fact, he regressed with the Premier League club, not making a single appearance before seeing his loan move cut short after just a few months.

“I’m in from the dark,” said Badé in an interview with L’Équipe, which followed his debut for Les Bleus in the UEFA Nations League third-place play-off against Germany. “I am coming from very far back. I was lucky to go to Sevilla after my loan at Nottingham Forest,” he added.

He then went on to describe his time at Nottingham Forest as difficult, adding that doubt began to creep in. “There were lots of doubts that were creeping in. What I experienced there was one of the worst situations for a player. You start asking yourself questions: ‘Am I still at the level?’, ‘Am I not just a fraud?’ (laughs). It is a vicious circle. The less you play, the more confidence you lose. And when you do play, you fear playing badly,” said the Sevilla centre-back.

Since making the move to Sevilla permanent back in 2023, Badé has rediscovered his best form and he is now being linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle