Spanish football expert, Graham Hunter, believes that Alejo Veliz has all the attributes needed to evolve into a top centre-forward and backed the on-loan Tottenham man to get more than 15 goals for Espanyol this season.
After enduring a difficult six months at Sevilla last season where he hardly got a look-in, things are looking a lot more promising for Veliz at Espanyol.
He has already featured four times for the Catalan club, which is more than he did throughout his time at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, and he announced himself to the home fans with a brilliant stoppage-time winner against Rayo Vallecano.
With the clock ticking down, the 20-year-old got on the end of a low cross inside the box, took a touch to create half a yard for himself and unleashed a blistering strike that almost burst through the net.
It was the sort of confidence-boosting goal that the youngster needed to his campaign underway, and Hunter expects the Argentine to go from strength to strength over the course of this season.
The pundit said (Premier Sports): “For Veliz, people need to understand, he’s a country boy, a country boy who was playing for not quite a village team when Rosario spotted him and took him to one of Argentina’s big, certainly passionate cities.
“He didn’t spend long there and was recruited by Spurs and they’ve given him – my memory tells me it’s a contract until 2029, because they think that highly of him.
“I saw him at Spurs last season scoring at Brighton, he took three attempts to finish a goal because of jitteriness or nerves, but our producer who is watching this now [Veliz’s late winner for Espanyol], who is a massive Espanyol fan.
“I said to him at the beginning of the season after game week one, and he agreed I’m not taking credit, Veliz has got it, he’s got the movement, he’s got the aggression.
“He has a certain something that means that occasionally he’ll try things and you’re like ‘no’, I think he could be a 16 or 17 goal [striker] this season. Which is a big ask, I know I might be wrong, but what I see in him are the special elements about judgement, about movement, about being able to hold players off.
“Raw, raw as a farm boy – partially because he is a country boy, but they have an exciting footballer.”
Spurs Web Opinion
What is clear about Veliz already is that he has a fantastic mentality and a burning desire to compete and score goals, which all great strikers have.
The youngster’s drive and his physicality arguably make him for his technical shortcomings.
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