The two Premier League outcasts who are lighting up La Liga

The two Premier League outcasts who are lighting up La Liga [VIDEO]

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As Celta Viga travel to El Madrigal to take on Villarreal in a battle of the first and third placed sides on the table, Spanish eyes will be on two forwards who have rediscovered their form after indifferent spells in England.

Iago Aspas and Roberto Soldado enter this fixture with four and two goals respectively, with also Aspas recording one assist to the former Tottenham hitman’s three. While two years separate the strikers in age, their journeys have been eerily similar.

Aspas began playing at Celta and it was at the Galician club where his career took-off. Spending four years in the Segunda division, Aspas honed his craft as a centre forward and although his first three seasons were a struggle for the man born in Moana, scoring only ten league goals in 69 appearences, he would announce his arrival during the 2011-12 campaign.

Playing in a Celta side which finished second and secured a return to La Primera, Aspas was top scorer for his side and second in the league. His tally of 23 strikes from 35 matches put him behind Leonardo Ulloa, who top scored for Almeria with 28 goals.

The step-up in quality made chances hard to come by for the Celta star, but his 12 goals were enough to make Liverpool and Brendan Rogers take note as they spent €8.2 million to secure his services.

His time at Anfield will not be fondly looked back upon for the Spaniard. Appearing only 14 times for the Merseysiders, Aspas’ Premier League career was largely over before it had begun. He was never able to hit the back of the net in the English top-flight and his only goal for the Red’s came in the FA Cup against Oldham.

Two years on, with one spent on loan at Sevilla, Aspas has found himself back at his first club and is rediscovering the touch that made him a wanted man. Sharing in a front three with second top scorer Nolito and Danish International Daniel Wass, Celta Vigo are setting La Liga alight.

Sitting equal second in the league, only one point behind table toppers Villarreal, Celta are undefeated and have scored more goals than any other team. Through the good form of Aspas and the unplayable Nolito, Os Celestes look like a real threat to crack the European places this year.

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Travelling to the home of the leaders is never an easy task though and that is what confronts the team as they visit a Yellow Submarine outfit being led up-front by another Premier League outcast in Soldado.

Like Aspas, the fellow Spaniard’s career began slowly, as at 18-years of age and on the books of Real Madrid Soldado struggled for game time. It was not until his move to home town team Valencia, via Getafe, that the now 30-year-old hit the spotlight

Under now-Sevilla manager Unai Emery, Soldado flourished as a centre-forward and in three league seasons at Valencia scored 18, 17 and 24 goals respectively. It was following the 2012-13 run where his total of 24 finished him as the fifth highest scorer in the league that the Premier League and London came calling.

Soldado made the €30 million move to Tottenham Hotspur in August of 2013 and big things were expected of the import. On his Premier League debut the new arrival scored the winner from the penalty spot against Crystal Palace, but from there it was all downhill.

Unlike Aspas at Liverpool, Soldado was given every opportunity to perform at White Hart Lane, but his seven goal return from 52 outings was not good enough, labelled a flop and shipped back to his homeland.

He is now back in Valencia and just 63 kilometres from the Mestalla he used to call home sits his new place of employment – El Madrigal – and it is in the yellow of Villarreal that he is rediscovering his scoring boots.

No forward is yet to hit the net for the Yellow Submarine this season, as Cedric Bakambu has three goals, Soldado and Leo Baptistao both sit on two, while Adrian Lopez has used the Europa League to open his account. Though the Premier League castaway has been the standout and his three assists have been instrumental in taking the team to the top of the ladder.

Two teams defying expectations feature two players who were sent adrift from the glitz of English football at the head of their respective classes. Much will be said about how these two could not handle the rigours of ‘the greatest league in the world’ but as English teams continue to falter in the Champions League, the Spaniards continue to flourish.

Aspas and Soldado may not have been able to lead Liverpool or Tottenham to the top of the division, but Aspas may be able to take Celta there with a win on Sunday, while Soldado has already achieved it as Villarreal sit atop La Liga for the first time in their history.

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