Moleiro surpasses Raphinha and Vinicius numbers as Villarreal ace makes Spain case | OneFootball

Alberto Moleiro, 22, has embraced the step up at Villarreal and is making a compelling case for a Spain call, according to El Periódico Mediterráneo.

In the rout of Espanyol he influenced three of the four goals. His pass forced the second as Salinas put through his own net, he then teed up Nicolas Pepe for the third before curling the fourth beyond Dmitrovic.

Moleiro has nine goals and four assists, direct involvement in 13 of Villarreal’s 43 LaLiga strikes, a 30.23% share. He is the club’s top scorer, two clear of Gerard Moreno and three ahead of Mikautadze, and sits seventh in the league chart, above Dani Olmo and Pablo Fornals on six, while Álex Baena at Atlético Madrid has one goal and two assists.

He has also generated more goals than Raphinha, 11, Vinicius, 11, and Julián Álvarez, 10, despite playing further from goal.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will decide in the 23-31 March window whether to hand him a first senior call. Moleiro has been a fixture for the under-21s.

He could yet break Villarreal’s LaLiga midfield scoring record, held by Juan Román Riquelme with 15 in 2004/05, ahead of his 12 in 2005/06, then Santi Cazorla’s 11 in 2019-20. Moleiro is on nine, level with Roberto Soriano, with 16 matches remaining. He said he welcomes the praise as recognition of good work but is not setting targets, stressing he just wants to keep going.

Marcelino has often noted his high standards.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo