Well, this has been a whirlwind 24 hours for Alejo Veliz.
News broke yesterday that the young Argentine striker was headed to Southampton; only for the reports to be quickly rubbished by Michael Bridge at Sky Sports. It turns out, though, that a loan deal WAS on the horizon; just not to the English south coast. Matteo Moretto, Italian football “personality” (I hesitate to call him a journalist) broke the news with an exclusive:
Exclusiva.
El Espanyol ha cerrado el fichaje de Alejo Véliz, del Tottenham.
¡El delantero argentino ya está en Barcelona! pic.twitter.com/rq9MO8U0ev
— Matteo Moretto (@MatteMoretto) August 7, 2024
Apparently Veliz is already in Barcelona to sign a loan deal with La Liga side Espanyol. Alasdair Gold has since confirmed the news, and added that there is seemingly no option to buy.
Espanyol were promoted from the Segunda Division to the Spanish top-flight last season, and they’ll now probably be in for a tough fight to avoid going straight back down. That presents an opportunity for Veliz, as Espanyol will be in need of goals; especially as they essentially have no senior striker. Espanyol’s top scorer from last season, Martin Braithwaite, has headed to Gremio on a free, and their only other scorer in double figures was Javi Puado, who is ostensibly a winger.
The only real center forwards Espanyol has on the books are Max Svensson, Gaston Valles, and Omar Sadik; all of whom are 23 or under, and who have a grand total of… zero senior goals between them. This all sets the scene of an environment into which Veliz can come and make a huge impact.
This is a good move for Veliz’s development; here’s hoping he can take this chance with both hands (or feet, as it were). Expect this one to be made official in the coming days.
