hiː fˈaʊnd ɪt hˈɑːɹd tə bɹˈeɪk ˌɪntʊ ðə fˈɜːst tˈiːm, ˈoʊnli tˈoʊɾəlɪŋ tˈuːhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪntiːn mˈɪnɪts ɪn lˌæ lˈiːɡə, ænd ɪn lˈeɪt dʒˈænjuːˌɛɹi tˈuː θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪt dʒˈɔɪnd lˈɪl ˌɔn lˈoʊn ʌntˈɪl ðɪ ˈɛnd ʌvðə sˈiːzən.
He found it hard to break into the first team, only totalling 219 minutes in La Liga, and in late January 2008 joined Lille on loan until the end of the season.