The £30m defender whose manager ‘hated’ him – but who could be headed to Newcastle United

It’s not often that a manager claims that they “hated” one of their own players, and perhaps even less so when it’s an international defender who’s wanted by both Aston Villa and Newcastle this summer – but then again, Will Still was trying to pay Facundo Medina a complement.

The five-cap Argentina defender could be among the best technical defenders in Europe, and seems ready for a big move to the Premier League. A price tag of up to €35m (£30m) has been mentioned in the most recent reports – so should Newcastle or Villa fork that out this summer? Just why did Still have it in for his own player? And which personal trait could be his biggest weakness?

Why Will Still ‘hated’ defender Facundo Medina

Still, who took over as manager at Medina’s club RC Lens last summer, didn’t mean to insult his 25-year-old defender when he said that he hated him – quite the opposite.

“When I was at Reims, he was a player I hated,” Still recently said. “He drove me crazy on the pitch, but he’s the first guy you want to have on your team.”

The reason Medina drove him crazy, and the reason that he can’t be said to be a player without weaknesses, is that the Argentine has earned something of a reputation for his aggressive – and arguably reckless – style of defending.

Never one to shy away from a tackle, Medina has collected a massive 52 yellow cards in Ligue 1 since signing for Lens five years ago from Argentine side Talleres. This season alone, he has 12 bookings from 25 games. It’s the kind of track record that’s just as frustrating for his own coaches as it is, perhaps, slightly terrifying for Medina’s opponents.

Not that Medina takes it too far very often. When he picked up a red card against OGC Nice in the league in February, it was – remarkably, given his disciplinary record – the first red card he had been shown in his entire career, which now spans almost 200 senior matches. In short, Medina has a reputation for being a little unhinged which perhaps gives opposing strikers some food for thought, but he knows when to stop pushing his luck or the patience of his manager.

When he isn’t lunging in, however, Medina is a manager’s dream as a central defender, especially in the modern game. A superb technician with an outstanding passing range, he’s press resistant, has excellent ball control and isn’t afraid to move forward and join the midfield when it’s the right idea – and while he may pick up an awful lot of cards, he’s been making over 60% of his tackles for the last two seasons. That’s a impressive statistic at the top level.

In short, Medina is a brilliant player whose reputation for aggression, while not entirely unwarranted, overshadows his ball skills and his ability to read the game. He is indeed the kind of player that opposing fans come to loathe but whose own supporters come to adore him – but is he worth £30m?

Why Aston Villa and Newcastle should consider buying Facundo Medina

There are probably some managers who would view Medina as rather too high-risk of a player, not just because of their habit of going into tackles hard but because he is more than comfortable taking opponents why try to press him on with the ball at his feet, or to look for long passes to spark quick counter-attacks.

It’s not easy to imagine either Eddie Howe or Unai Emery being all that bothered. He is perhaps high-risk and high-reward, but he combines high-quality tackling with exceptional passing and the ability to create chances, directly or indirectly.

The 2.53 shot-creating actions per match that he has been responsible for this season is among the very highest in the world at his position – as is the number of successful dribbles and long passes he completes. For teams that want to turn defence into attack at speed, Medina is perfect.

He seems particularly well-suited to Newcastle on that basis, a team that look to condense the field and get possession from one end to the other as rapidly as possible. A more conservative team, which demanded positional discipline from their defence, wouldn’t want Medina. The Magpies might, and he would cost a lot less than Marc Guéhi.

There will be times that he frustrates the fans, either by committing fouls or simply by trying too much when a simpler option would have been the better option, but he will create so many chances by virtue of his playing style that it’s probably worth it over the course of a season. Judging the raw data behind his performances in France, it has been worth it for Lens.

Lens don’t necessarily want to sell, but their financial position is far from perfect and they know that they are a selling club as it stands – and believe that £30m is probably his peak value. He still has three years to run on his current contract, but don’t expect him to be there next season.

For the club that does sign him – whether that’s Newcastle, Villa, or someone else entirely – Medina will no doubt cause some people to tear their hair out, but he plays at a level that’s more than high enough for the Premier League. Medina has a world-class statistical output, the bravery and playing style to thrive at the very highest level of the modern game, and now just needs the right team at which to continue his career in style. Just don’t expect him to get along well with the referees.