Alejo Véliz (born 19 September 2003) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Early life
Alejo Véliz was born in Gödeken, a small town in the Province of Santa Fe, about 120 km from the city of Rosario. When he was only three years old, he started playing football with his hometown club but at the age of six he moved with his family to Bernardo de Irigoyen, another town in Santa Fe, where he soon started playing at the Club Unión Deportivo y Cultural and continued there until he reached 16 years old.
Club career
Rosario Central
In late 2019 Véliz had his first trials with Rosario Central, but he only started playing for the club more than a year later as youth competitions had been halted by the covid pandemic.
Véliz made his professional debut for Rosario Central on 23 July 2021, replacing Alan Marinelli during a 1-0 home victory against the Venezuelan Deportivo Táchira, in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
He played only a small number of games in the Primera División that season but it was during the next that he made a breakthrough, scoring his first goal on 2 May 2022 during the 2–1 away Copa de la Liga loss to Club Atlético Huracán.
He scored his second in the next game, a 3-1 victory against Estudiantes, in a match that was also the last one of his idol and mentor, Marco Ruben, at the Rosario Central Stadium.
On 21 July 2022, Véliz scored the only goal of Rosario Central's Primera División victory against Newell's Old Boys in the historic Clásico Rosarino.
Tottenham Hotspur
On 8 August 2023, Véliz signed a six-year deal with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in a transfer estimated to be worth £13 million. Véliz made his debut for the club in a 2–1 home win against Liverpool, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute.
International career
Véliz was first called up for the Argentina national under-20 team by Fernando Batista in October 2021. He was selected again by the new U20 head coach Javier Mascherano in February 2022 and during the following spring.
Véliz was once again called to the U20 squad under Mascherano in January 2023 for the South American U-20 Championship in Colombia in which Argentina was eliminated on the first round. There he played all 4 matches, starting against Paraguay and Peru.
In May 2023, he was included in the Argentine squad that took part in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament, hosted by Argentina. On 20 May he scored his first goal of the competition in the 2–1 victory over Uzbekistan. Three days later he scored again, this time in a 3–0 win against Guatemala.