(Football news) Spain international and recently crowned Nations League 2023 champion Joselu has come back to Real Madrid, 12 years after he first left his boyhood club. The striker, who spent two seasons at Real Madrid Castilla and made his first-team debut under Jose Mourinho in 2011, lands in the capital after a magnificent season at RCD Espanyol.
Joselu is what many appraise him to be a pure ‘number 9′: a great finisher inside the box (his 15 goals inside the area were third most in LaLiga Santander last season), and he won the most aeriel duels of any player in the league (217). Despite being unable to ward off RCD Espanyol’s elimination to the second tier, Joselu summed up the season as the league’s third top scorer with 16 goals (behind only Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema) and won the Zarra Award for most goals scored by a Spanish player.
Joselu needs no introduction to Real Madrid. Not only did he come through the ranks at the club but he is also brother-in-law to the team’s long-time full-back Dani Carvajal, with whom he played for the Castilla reserve side in 2010 – their partners are twin sisters!
Hard work pays off
Joselu maybe 33 years old – an uncommon age for Real Madrid to sign a striker at – but he is presently playing the best football of his career, showing his experience, intelligence, and agility in front of goal week in, week out.
Joselu has playing experience in Spain, Germany and England for 10 different teams, representing RC Celta, Real Madrid, Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City, RC Deportivo, Newcastle United, Deportivo Alavés, and, recently RCD Espanyol. His goalscoring stats have brushed up with age, breaking double digits in each of his last four seasons.
And beyond his apex performance in domestic competitions, look no further than his international career for a sign that he has outstretched into his prime. Joselu made his U21 debut for Spain in 2010, but after being overlooked by a succession of coaches over the past decade he was called up by a new coach Luis de la Fuente. Since his debut in March, Joselu has scored three times in just four appearances, including a brace on his debut against Norway.
Also read: https://spogonews.com/india-u-17-womens-football-camp-for-afc-asian-cup-qualifiers-rd-2-from-july-7/
