‘Time will tell’ – Tottenham man reveals Real Madrid interest in him on two separate occasions

Tottenham man Alejo Veliz has revealed Real Madrid have shown an interest in him on two separate occasions, and “time will tell” if he is to stay with his current side.

Spurs signed Veliz for £13million from Rosario Central in the summer. He was coming off the back of a couple of very good seasons for a youngster, scoring six goals in Liga Profesional in 2022 and 11 in 2023.

With Harry Kane walking out the Tottenham door for Bayern Munich at the same time as he came into the club, the Argentine might have expected he’d have played more regularly than he did in the first half of the season.

Indeed, Veliz played just eight times in the Premier League – each time from the bench – and his longest stint on the pitch was for 20 minutes, when he scored a consolation goal during a 4-2 loss against Brighton.

Tottenham clearly saw and do still see a very good player in him, hence signing him.

However, they’ve since loaned 20-year-old Veliz out to Sevilla – a La Liga side obviously still playing at a good level – as they felt they were going to have few opportunities for him this season.

His future could have panned out very differently before he joined Tottenham, though.

Indeed, Veliz has confirmed that Real Madrid were tracking him before he made the move to north London, but he didn’t want to go.

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Veliz twice wanted by Real Madrid

“Yes, it appeared in the press and some time ago my agent told me about interest from Real Madrid, but nothing materialised,” Veliz told AS.

“It was during the South American under-20 Championship, I hadn’t been in the first team for long and I wanted to continue playing at Rosario. After the under-20 World Cup, too.

“But I’m a calm guy, I take things patiently and I believe a lot in God, he focuses me on my path and he’s going to give me the best.”

The South American under-20 Championship took place in January 2023, and the World Cup in May – Veliz bagged three goals in the latter, before Argentina were knocked out in the round of 16.

That nothing came of Real’s interest allowed Tottenham to strike not long after, before loaning the striker out to Sevilla, who are happy with his “desire” despite the fact he’s yet to play more than four minutes.

Veliz unsure what the future holds

The striker suggests he’s happy on his loan spell, and is unsure if he’ll be staying beyond this season – his initial loan period is supposed to end in the summer, and Veliz does not know where he’ll end up.

“I don’t know what will happen [in the summer]. If I stay, time will tell. To start with, Sevilla and their fans must be happy with me because I’m delighted to have come here and I hope that many good things will happen,” Veliz added.

A permanent transfer seems very unlikely given the promise Veliz has shown – if he impresses on loan, Tottenham might decide he’s got more chance of getting minutes back in north London next season.

If they don’t see enough from him in his spell out this term, it’s likely they’ll loan him back out again to push him to find form while playing at a good level.

Veliz would seemingly be open to a return to Sevilla if that is to be the case, but his performances this season will seemingly decide whether or not that’s what they want.

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