Soaking up the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine and overlooking a pristine pitch at Valencia’s training ground, Alvaro Negredo strokes that handsome beard of his and flashes a familiar smile.

He has just been reminded of the ditty that became a favourite in the stands at Manchester City last season, when Negredo arrived from Sevilla in a £16.5million deal and made an immediate impact.

‘Feed the Beast and he will score!’ Negredo sings, bursting into laughter. ‘Someone in England wrote this was my nickname - La Fiera de Vallecas (The Beast of Vallecas) - and it ran from there. In Spain, everybody knows me more as El Tiburon (The Shark).’

Alvaro Negredo was highly-rated when he arrived from Sevilla to Manchester City for £16.5million

Negredo is settling into life with Valencia following his loan move from City in August

Valencia forward Negredo goes down under pressure from Vallecano goalkeeper Tono on Thursday

Negredo battles for possession with Rayo Vallecano's Jorge Morcillo Vallecas stadium in Madrid

Negredo has taken his time to get going at Valencia scoring only six goals since his arrival at the La Liga club

SEASON FROM HELL Alvaro Negredo, a £20million signing from Sevilla in July 2013, had just one campaign at Manchester City — and as the following statistics show, it truly was a season of two halves. Aug 19-Jan 21 Appearances: 33 Goals: 23 Jan 22-end of season Apps:16 Goals: 0 Advertisement

Beast or shark, either is in-keeping with the predatory instincts that Negredo showcased during his devastating introduction to life in English football. For six months, it was a privilege to watch Negredo on these shores. He operated as a typical No 9 but offered so much more with his touch and invention.

Negredo had scored 23 goals in 33 games by the end of January. He struck five goals in five appearances in the Champions League group stage. In the Premier League, he scored in victories over Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. In the Capital One Cup semi-final against West Ham, he scored five of City’s nine in a two-legged demolition.

The player who takes inspiration from the Brazilian Ronaldo - ‘The big one, not Cristiano,’ he says, doing an impression of a sumo wrestler - tore through Premier League defences week after week.

Even when he didn’t score, he was producing moments that took the breath away. There was a nonchalant dummy at West Ham to create a goal for Sergio Aguero. ‘In Spain, we call it dejar pasar. It was a beautiful, intuitive moment.’

In these pages, columnist Jamie Redknapp wrote: ‘Negredo looks like a caveman but plays like an artist, he can create his design with a sledgehammer, or a paint brush.’

‘I remember reading that!’ he says. ‘I adapted quickly to the English game. The physicality suited me but there is more to my game. I was playing with David Silva, Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure and Aguero. They always look for that final pass and for a forward that is a dream.’

Negredo appeared unstoppable and then the express train ground to a halt. The zip and zest, the man-crushing and net-ripping power that put Negredo in line for the end-of-season awards began to desert him.

He scored his last City goal on January 21, 2014, and by August he was loaned out to Valencia. A clause was agreed obliging the Spanish club to buy Negredo for £22.2m this summer. It was, in effect, a transfer.

Negredo fires past Blackburn keeper Simon Eastwood during City's game at the Etihad in January, 2014

To many City supporters, it was a mystery. This is his first English newspaper interview since leaving Manchester and he feels the need to set the record straight. He takes particular issue with suggestions he endured personal problems.

‘I don’t go along with this,’ he says, firmly. ‘I was not homesick. I was very happy in Manchester and on a personal level. It is a different way of life but it is not an excuse.’

Negredo was living in the leafy Cheshire suburb of Alderley Edge with his wife Clara and their young daughter Aitana. He has separated from Clara since returning to Spain but insists their time in Manchester was not to blame.

‘It just didn’t work out between us. Sevilla, Manchester, Valencia, wherever, it would have ended the same. Maybe I spent more time around the house than I would have done elsewhere but these things happen between couples every day.

‘At City, we had a dressing room full of Spanish speakers. Javi Garcia, David Silva, I came with Jesus Navas from Sevilla, then there were Argentines like Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis. There were more than enough people to make me feel welcome. I was very close to Pablo. He showed me the local pubs!

Negredo celebrates his strike during City's 2-1 victory against Liverpool in December, 2013

‘I made an effort to learn English, the manager (Manuel Pellegrini) spoke English in the dressing room and I could understand most of it by the end of the season. It is not a reason to say my family wasn’t happy. There are things you miss when you leave your country but the main reason I left is because the manager lost faith in me.

‘Around February, I had an injury to my shoulder. I didn’t stop to rest it. I was playing in a huge amount of pain. Kun (Aguero) was injured and Stevan Jovetic had problems, so I felt I had to play. We had huge games against Chelsea and Barcelona. I didn’t play well and the manager started to play Edin Dzeko. I don’t feel I ever regained his trust.’

Negredo is engaging company. He talks warmly about his parents, Jose Maria and Juana, whose initials, along with the name of his daughter, are tattooed on his arm.

His off-field persona, I suggest, is quite sensitive, the polar opposite of the brawny presence that decimated Premier League defences. ‘I’d agree with that. I began to lose my confidence but I didn’t give up. I trained harder than ever and tried to show Pellegrini I deserved to play. In the end, though, when you do all that and you still don’t get a game, it’s difficult. I need to play for a manager who wants me.’

Manuel Pellegrini speaks with Negredo and Segio Aguero during his side's clash with West Ham in late 2013

As Dzeko excelled, Negredo’s role reduced. He was dropped for the Capital One Cup final victory over Sunderland in March and started only three games after that.

In the final five games of the league season, Negredo did not come off the bench against West Brom or Everton and was only brought on as a substitute in the 85th minute or later in the other three games.

‘I came on as a sub but it was almost to waste time. On the last day with the trophy, Zaba said: ‘This is yours, you have been fighting for it like anybody else, so make sure you enjoy it.’ In my head, I knew I’d played a big part but it was hard to feel part of it. I felt cold.’

Pellegrini, Negredo says, did not let him know why he had become a spare part. ‘No, no,’ he sighs. ‘We went on an end-of-season trip to Abu Dhabi and I tried to speak to him. Pellegrini said he believed in me, that we would start over again the following season but I didn’t see his ideas as being particularly clear.’

City have always insisted Negredo wanted to return to Spain and, once he made that wish clear, they went out of their way to ensure he could go to Valencia. They were not pushing him out but they felt he had been given ample chance to turn his form around. By the end of the summer, he had decided he had to leave.

Negredo keeps in regular contact with several of his former City team-mates including David Silva (left)

‘Missing out on the World Cup was a blow for me. If I’d kept up my form, I had a chance of making it. I then suffered a broken foot in pre-season. We could only register 21 overseas players for the Champions League squad and I knew I was under consideration to be left out. That was a really hard blow.’

At Valencia, Negredo has taken his time to get going, scoring only six goals. It has led to suggestions the club is exploring ways to pull out of a permanent deal. City insist it will go through while boardroom sources at Valencia confirmed to Sportsmail they want Negredo to stay.

He offers a wry smile and blows out his cheeks. ‘I want to stay here and be with this team in the Champions League. We are battling Sevilla for fourth place. There is a new owner and the club is growing.’

As for his old side, Negredo has been watching them when he can. He receives messages from Zabaleta, Aguero and Silva — the player he describes as the greatest he has played alongside.

‘I have played with Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Juan Mata and David Villa for Spain but I would go with Silva. His first touch is out of this world, it is like time stands still when you give him the ball. He is unique.

After Edin Dzeko's emergence at City, Negredo's role spearheading City's attack began to subside

‘I have watched nearly every City game this season that hasn’t clashed with ours. Their level has dropped and they are fighting for third. They have been short of a striker. They probably need a fourth one.

‘James Milner was playing there. Wilfried Bony is a good player but hasn’t had many chances. They have great players, though, and it doesn’t need to be the end of a cycle.’

Negredo admits he was surprised to see Pellegrini line up with a 4-4-2 system at home to Barcelona in the Champions League defeat.

‘For me, you cannot play against Barcelona with two in central midfield and two up front. It is too risky. I can’t describe how tired you become playing against this team; you are chasing the ball for 90 minutes. You need as many people in midfield as you can, not only to win the ball but also to keep it. But it’s the manager’s decision.’

The groundsman drives past in his little tractor and Negredo waves. ‘I’m very happy here. The climate’s good, the city is beautiful, the people are nice.’ He smiles, running a hand through his beard again.