Espanyol sporting director Fran Garagarza has told AS that Tottenham Hotspur’s Alejo Véliz rejected Champions League clubs to join them.
The striker arrived at the La Liga side from Tottenham on a loan deal in the summer window.
Espanyol signed eight new players in the summer and seven of them are loan signings. Álvaro Tejero joined them on a free transfer.
Garagarza has explained the club’s financial situation and La Liga’s salary limit meant they had to sign players on temporary deals.
The director has revealed he’s been following the Argentina U20 international after his fine displays at the U20 World Cup in 2023, where he scored three goals from four matches.
Véliz struggled for a prominent role under Ange Postecoglou in the first half of last season. The Premier League side let him join Sevilla in January. His game time was restricted to 31 minutes from six games at the Andalusian club.
If he had impressed at Sevilla, Espanyol wouldn’t have been able to sign him. That’s at least what the Espanyol sporting director now claims.
When AS pointed out that the Tottenham owned player comes from a difficult spell at Sevilla, he said: “We understood that we had to go for that type of player who was more out than in at his clubs.
“In the case of Véliz, for example, he came from a somewhat complicated loan at Sevilla. He didn’t play much. It’s true that if he had played his level there, we wouldn’t have had any chance of having him with us.
“He had several Italian teams and Champions League clubs after him, but Tottenham helped us. They understood that with us the player’s value would increase because we made them see that he was going to be important. Having a young boy of that profile, even with money, is difficult.”
Véliz has a goal from five matches for Espanyol this season.