Steven Alzate wasn’t even supposed to be in the country where he’s now rebuilding his career.
“If someone had told me I was ever going to come to Belgium, I’d have probably laughed and said there’s no way, but I’m here, riding it out,” says the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder on his unexpected loan spell with top-flight Standard Liege.
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“Most importantly, I’m enjoying my football.”
It wasn’t a laughing matter for Alzate in the frenzied final minutes of last summer’s transfer window, when a loan to West Bromwich Albion of the Championship fell through because the paperwork wasn’t completed by the 11pm deadline.
Graham Potter, Brighton’s then-head coach, gave his players the day off on the final day of the window, a Thursday, so Alzate was in London, his home city, spending time with his family, although he was aware of interest from several clubs.
Brighton were busy completing the permanent signing of fellow midfielder Billy Gilmour from Chelsea. West Brom had their hands full, too, as they were also (and also unsuccessfully) attempting to add Josh Onomah on loan from Fulham to then-head coach Steve Bruce’s midfield.
By the time Alzate had chosen The Hawthorns as his preferred destination, it was too late in the day to make the 130-mile (210km) journey from the capital up to the West Midlands. So the medical took place in central London.
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Alzate headed off afterwards to the nearby offices of the Stellar group — agency partners with his representative Dimitri Savva of D&S Sports Management — to await the paperwork from West Brom.
“At about 10:55, I see on Sky Sports News that I’m joining West Brom on a season-long loan,” says Alzate. “I’m thinking it’s done. But I’m also thinking, ‘I haven’t signed anything yet and the deadline is in five minutes’. The next thing you know, it’s 10:56, 10:57… and I’m starting to stress out a bit.”
There was no safety net of a ‘deal sheet’, a process that permits Premier League clubs to submit details of their intentions within two hours of the deadline to secure a two-hour extension beyond the official closing of a transfer window. It was now or never for Alzate.
“There were a few clauses in my contract which weren’t meant to be there,” he says. “It was all a bit chaotic. There was a problem with the WiFi as well, so it took a while to come through.
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“When it came through, it was literally two minutes before deadline and by the time we scanned (through) it, signed it and sent it back, it was past the deadline.
“Nobody at that point told me, ‘You are not joining West Brom’, but by the look on the face of my agent and the secretary (at Stellar), I could tell it wasn’t going to happen. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be.
“Steve (Bruce) kept calling up until 11, saying, ‘Is it done yet?’. He was gutted when he found out it was too late, and I was gutted. I spoke to him after that. I told him I wanted to join and wished him all the best for the rest of the season.
“Steve was the one that convinced me to go and he ended up leaving West Brom (he was sacked just over a month later), so I don’t know if it was a blessing in disguise. I guess everything happens for a reason.”
Alzate is explaining what happened by video call from his apartment in Liege — Belgium’s fifth-biggest city, an hour’s drive east of Brussels near the border with the Netherlands.
He signed for 10-times domestic champions Standard on September 6, five days after the window closed in England and the final day of the Belgian one, following a discussion with his parents.
Steven Alzate, right, playing for Standard Liege last month (Photo by Virginie Lefour/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images)He hasn’t looked back.
Rather, he’s become an integral part of their team in two different positions under Norwegian manager Ronny Deila, who won the title back home with Stromsgodset (2013), two in Scotland with Celtic (2015 and 2016) and the MLS with New York City (2021) before taking charge at the near 28,000-capacity Stade Maurice Dufrasne in June.
“The lifestyle isn’t great,” admits Alzate of Liege, which has a population of just under 200,000. “There isn’t a lot to do out here, but it’s really good because I’m playing regularly.
“At the beginning, I was playing as the No 8, but then (fellow midfielder) Nicolas Raskin left (for Glasgow Rangers last month) and the manager told me he wanted me to play a bit deeper. I was fine with that.
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“We’ve been playing since Christmas with three midfielders and wing-backs. I’ve been the No 6. In that position, I’m allowed to dictate the game, control different tempos.
“The system we’re playing here suits me — and the playing style as well. He (Deila) likes to play. I’d say my best position is somewhere central — No 6 or No 8, for sure.”
Although Deila and most of the squad can speak English, Liege is in the French-speaking part of Belgium, so Alzate is having fortnightly French lessons with some of his team-mates.
Sixth-placed Standard are in contention for a top-four finish and the possibility of qualifying for Europe in Belgium’s complicated end-of-season play-offs.
Back home, Brighton are competing for European qualification as well under Roberto De Zerbi. Although Alzate hasn’t spoken to the Italian yet, he has had regular contact with the club’s loans manager Gordon Greer and Greer’s predecessor in that role, David Weir, who is now technical director.
Alzate says of De Zerbi: “I’d never heard of him (before he succeeded Graham Potter in mid-September), but when he signed, quite a few people were telling me he’s a top manager who loves his football, loves tactics. As you can see, Brighton are having an amazing season.
“Since I’ve come out on loan, I’ve watched a few games. It’s similar to Graham Potter in that he likes to play out (from the back). I’ve spoken to a few of the players as well and they’ve talked about how much passion he has and how good he is.
“When you watch them play, you can see how comfortable everyone is and how well everyone understands each other. I feel that style of play would suit me, so it’s an interesting one. Gordon Greer told me the way they play would suit me.
“Right now, it would be difficult to get into the team, but in terms of the style of play, that’s 100 per cent my style. I like to pass the ball, play out — pure composure, no stress.”
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Alzate had “mixed feelings” about Potter leaving for Chelsea early this season. Potter had fast-tracked the former Leyton Orient academy kid into the Premier League as a 21-year-old in 2019-20, his first season in charge after succeeding Chris Hughton.
He made 19 league appearances in that campaign, including 12 starts, and broke into Colombia’s national team — his parents are from that South American country. However, his game time at Brighton was gradually declining, with 15 league outings (10 starts) in 2020-21 and only nine (four starts) last season.
This move to Liege and De Zerbi’s appointment two weeks later represents a reboot.
“That’s football, one minute you can be on top of the world, the next you are struggling to get game time, for whatever reason,” Alzate says. “It’s just about how you manage it.
“When I had my breakthrough I was still pretty young and it all happened so fast — playing regularly in the Premier League, called up for Colombia. Along the way, I picked up a few injuries and lost my place in the team.
“This loan has been crucial because I’m already 24. If I’d stayed at Brighton I don’t know if I’d have got the minutes I’m getting here.
“The main thing was to get my mojo back because when you go through a period of not playing you start to lose your confidence. It’s been about getting back on track, feeling good about myself, enjoying the game again.”
His immediate target for the next three months is to help Liege get into Europe before returning to Brighton in the summer.
“My aim then is to have a good pre-season, speak with the manager, see what plans he’s got for me and then take it from there,” he says.
“I’ve been at Brighton for a while. The plan would be to stay and play a part, help the team succeed, but you need to be ready for any circumstances. I’m not ruling anything out.”
(Top photo: Bruno Fahy/Belga Mag via AFP via Getty Images)
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