‘I wasn’t having a good time’ – Spurs player is aiming for a breakthrough season
Alejo Veliz confesses that he was in a bad place mentally following his ill-fated loan spell at Sevilla last season and admits that Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez was the one who convinced him to return to Spain.
Alejo Veliz had a nightmare at Sevilla
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 just before the international break.
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.
The Tottenham man has even been nominated for the La Liga Under 23 Player of the Month award for August, joining Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios, Getafe’s Christantus Uche, and Valladolid’s Raul Moro.
Alejo Veliz wants to prove himself this season
Veliz has now spoken about the decision to join the Catalan club, insisting that he had his mind made up after speaking with Gonzalez.
The Tottenham man told La Grada Radio: “The main reason why I am here is González. I came from a loan at Sevilla where I didn’t have the opportunity to contribute or show myself.
“I had stressed to my agent that it was a very important step for me because personally and psychologically I wasn’t having a good time, we could not fall lower than what we were,
“I told my representative that a coach should say that he wanted me on his team. As soon as Espanyol came out, two days later the coach called me, I was with Tottenham in Japan for the pre-season, he told me that he had seen me a lot and that I was the player he wanted, that he saw a very good future in me.
“I told my girlfriend about it and she told me it was what we were looking for. When I ended the call, I contacted my agent and insisted, ‘it has to be here’.”
When asked if he can have a breakthrough season at Espanyol, Véliz responded: “I hope so, I hope it can be my best year and give a lot of joy to the club, I have very good expectations and with hard work things happen.
“I have my personal objectives but we have to try to achieve all the objectives of the group. It could be a good year, hopefully, it will give us another push. We know that there are many things to improve and others that we want to continue to maintain.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This experience of playing in a high-pressure environment, potentially fighting for safety with Espanyol, will do Veliz’s development a world of good. The youngster will undoubtedly return to Tottenham a better player.
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