Alejo Veliz is currently waiting for his loan with Sevilla to begin. After playing a few games for Tottenham in the early part of the season and scoring his first professional goal in a defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in late December, it was decided one month later that the Argentine might leave on loan for the rest of the season.
Moving to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in the process, Veliz’s temporary loan to the La Liga club was viewed as the ideal opportunity for the 20-year-old to further his development and return to Tottenham as a better player ahead of the 2024/25 season. With Sevilla uncomfortably looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone, it appeared to be the ideal transfer, as the forward would have the chance to make himself a hero and score the goals required to propel Los Nervionenses up the league table.
Veliz arrived in Andalusia not fully fit, having only recently returned to the training pitch at Hotspur Way in the days leading up to his loan exit. He was always going to need time to recover from the knee injury he sustained in the closing minutes of the New Year’s Eve win over Bournemouth. After watching games against Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid from the stands in early February, Veliz made his Sevilla debut midway through the month, coming on for the final four minutes of the 0-0 draw with Valencia.
Eight days later, the striker fulfilled a dream by entering the fray for the final 15 minutes of Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at their iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium, then returning off the bench for four minutes in their following match, a 3-2 victory against Real Sociedad. With Sevilla playing on Monday evening and Veliz potentially starting against bottom-placed Almeria, the Argentina Under-20 international remained an unused replacement in the 2-2 draw.
Head coach Quique Sanchez Flores made four replacements from the hour mark onwards, but Veliz, the lone out-and-out striker on the bench, was not one of them, despite the need for a goal. However, one of his improvements proved to be extremely effective. Dodi Lukebakio, a dynamic attacker, restored parity nine minutes from time before Lucas Ocampos gave them the lead five minutes later.
However, there was a nasty twist in stoppage time when Marko Milovanovic headed in a 95th-minute equaliser to keep Veliz and Co. from moving any further away from the drop zone. Given the need for a goal, Veliz had a dismal night; the striker is currently forced to watch as Youssef En-Nesyri has performed admirably in front of goal this season, and Isaac Romero has also contributed recently.
Veliz is not the only January acquisition who has struggled to find minutes under Sanchez Flores; Hannibal Mejbri, who signed on loan from Manchester United, has also made only four appearances. One of those came at the start of a game, although the midfielder was also an unused substitute four times.
The troubles of Sevilla’s January recruits have been a talking topic in Spain, with another addition Lucien Agoume also having restricted minutes since joining the Spanish club from Inter Milan. Following Monday’s 2-2 draw with Almeria, Spanish daily AS questioned their winter deals, pointing out that the trio has played less than 300 minutes combined and that Lukebakio’s return to the fold could be bad news for Veliz.
Tottenham will be hoping that an increase in minutes soon comes Veliz’s way and he isn’t limited to a bit-part role for the rest of the season, as he desperately needs to get some regular football under his belt to help his development after loaning him out in January. Unfortunately, due to the knee injury he incurred against Bournemouth, Veliz was always going to require time and an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities, which may lead to additional minutes.
Los Nervionenses now have ten games left in the season, and Veliz will be looking to play an important role before returning to Tottenham in the summer. Things may not have gone his way at Sevilla just yet, but a lot can still change for the Spurs player in the remainder of the season.
