Sevilla chief makes Alejo Veliz transfer claim as Tottenham man discusses injury return

Alejo Veliz has revealed that he should be training with his new Sevilla teammates from Tuesday. Joining Tottenham in the summer from Rosario Central, the striker made the move to the Spanish club on deadline day after signing on loan for the remainder of the season.

Not featuring at all since New Year's Eve after sustaining a knee injury in Spurs' 3-1 win over Bournemouth, one week ago the young striker provided an update on his recovery by uploading footage of him undertaking a number of runs at Tottenham's training ground. Clearly getting there in terms of his fitness, Veliz could be back on the pitch for his new club sooner rather than later.

Monday evening's away game at Rayo Vallecano looks like it will come too soon for him, with the striker admitting at his unveiling as a Sevilla player that it should be from the following day when he is fully involved with his new teammates. That in turn may mean he could be challenging for a place in the matchday squad for next Sunday's home clash against Atletico Madrid, with further games to come against Valencia and Real Madrid in February.

"So far, everyone I've met here, for example the president, has been so welcoming," explained Veliz, as reported by Sevilla's official website. "I've come here to do the best I can for the club. Yesterday was a long day, but it was worth all the effort that was put in.

"I'm so proud and grateful to be given this opportunity. I have been training well with the ball for two weeks as part of my recovery from injury and next week I should be able to train with the whole squad."

On meeting his new teammates, he added: "[I've] already spent a bit of time with them and will try my best to fit in. The fact I will be wearing the number 10 gives me even more reason to give everything on the pitch. I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to play with them from Tuesday."

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Getting minutes here and there for Tottenham following his move from Rosario Central in the summer, Veliz knew he had to make the temporary move to Sevilla as soon as he became aware of their interest.

"I'm a striker who likes to play in the penalty area, who chases every ball and doesn't give up. Going from the Premier League to La Liga is a very exciting step," said the youngster. "When my agent told me Sevilla were interested, I told him to do whatever it took to make it happen, because it’s a huge club and I think I'm going to love it here.

"I spoke with the coach and am very happy. It will depend on me to show, with the healthy competition here, what I’m about, show my best football on the pitch and try to earn my place.”

Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta, formerly of Leeds United, was also speaking at Veliz's unveiling and he revealed that the Spanish side had in fact tried to sign the Argentine back in the summer before he made the move to Tottenham.

"Véliz is a striker that we have been trying to get for a while," said the Spaniard. "We were competing against some of the biggest teams in Europe in the summer. When those players then go to one of the big clubs we continue to have them on our radar to see how they progress.

"In the final week of the transfer window, we learned that Véliz could be an option and that they would be able to recover from his injury within a week and we went for the signing."