As a wildly exciting World Cup enters its final week in Qatar, the thinning footballing schedule has seen our minds wander back to what we know best.
LaLiga has been paused for 32 days now, and will remain frozen for a further 17, but the cogs have continued to turn behind the scenes, while the eyes of the world have been averted from Spanish shores.
Inspired by En-Nesyri’s zero-to-hero story for the Atlas Lions - scoring twice at the World Cup despite a goalless campaign so far in LaLiga - we’ve picked out three more players yet to get off the mark in 22/23, who are primed for a big second halves of the season…
Jørgen Strand Larsen - Celta Vigo
Hovering just one point above the relegation zone, some weight will need to be lifted from the shoulders of 35-year-old Iago Aspas if Celta are to extend their run of ten consecutive seasons in the Spanish top flight.
Yet, while the Magician of Moaña has continued his remarkable goalscoring form, responsible for half his side’s strikes this campaign, his new six-foot-three Scandinavian partner has shown himself a capable support striker, even without contributing to Celta’s 14-goal league haul.
The 22-year-old, while having two efforts disallowed for tight offsides, has also provided two stylish assists since his arrival in Spain, catching the eye with his curious mix of delicate technique and raw power.
Against Valladolid back in October, the rampant Norwegian fired in five shots on goal and won his side a penalty, before completely bamboozling Zouhair Feddal, Jerome Boateng style, to lay the ball on a plate for Óscar Rodriguez to score. And against Cádiz, weeks earlier, he provided a magnificent back-heeled assist, before crashing the ball against the post with a towering header, showing just what the young forward can bring to the table when his side are on song.
Following 24 goals across a three-season spell at Groningen, and having racked up 1.9 expected goals so far in Spain, excluding his two disallowed strikes, it’s surely a matter of time before we start to see Strand Larsen reap the rewards. After all, he certainly wouldn’t be the first 22-year-old Norwegian striker to go on a bit of a scoring streak this season, would he?
Raúl de Tomás - Rayo Vallecano
Few transfer sagas have been quite as bizarre as Raúl de Tomás’s escape from Espanyol, as last season’s seventeen-goal striker forced an incredible return to Southern Madrid, despite his agent allegedly head-butting Rayo’s controversial president, Raúl Martín Presa, and breaking his nose.
With the move not completed until after the transfer deadline, R.d.T has so far been ineligible to play for his new side, but has been able to make his second debut for Los Franjirrojos in the last few days, racking up three friendly appearances against Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Real Sociedad.
However, the slick-haired striker should return to LaLiga action on January 8th, a tantalising prospect at the head of an exciting attacking side. Last campaign, he rifled 101 shots towards goal, one of only two players to hit triple figures, as well as racking up an expected goals value of 15.5, only behind eventual Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema in the league.
Ahead of an excellent creative trio of Isi Palazón, Álvaro García and Óscar Trejo, with 141 crosses, 48 key passes and six assists between them this season, it should be plenty of fun to see a high-volume, high-quality shot-taker added to an already explosive mix.
Tino Kadewere - Mallorca
While de Tomás has been ruled out for Rayo over transfer technicalities, Mallorca’s 26-year-old loanee Tino Kadewere has been desperately unfortunate with injuries since his arrival at Son Moix.
On the eve of a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu, the Zimbabwe international suffered a serious quadriceps injury, with initial assessments ruling him out of action for four months - almost half of his loan spell.
Nonetheless, following a quicker-than-expected recovery, the pacy forward has wasted no time making his mark this month, scoring just forty minutes into his debut in the Copa Del Rey, before blasting home a confident hat-trick against UD Poblense in a friendly this week.
Manager Javier Aguirre was certainly impressed by the on-loan Lyon striker, hailing his lightning speed as a difference-maker, alongside the aerial threat of Vedat Muriqi, and the energy and clever interplay of Ángel Rodríguez and Abdón Prats.
Having scored 20 goals in Ligue 2 in 2019/20, with 11 further strikes and three assists across two injury-hit seasons in the top division, expect to see Kadewere’s devastating ability to attack the spaces, particularly from Muriqi’s flick-ons, to provide Mallorca with even more firepower after their best start to a LaLiga season in 12 years.