The left-back is having a run in the team since his summer move.
Going from Catalonia to getting thrashed in the Scottish League Cup is quite the culture shock. Alex Valle believes he is finally settling in at Celtic and is eager to make an impact.
The loaned Barcelona full back has had a whirlwind first few weeks. He made his Scottish football debut against Falkirk and ended up face first in the dirt a few times. After coming on in the second half of the Champions League drubbing in Dortmund, he recovered to perform well in the last-gasp win at Dingwall. Valle has been waiting for his big chance, and with regular left back Greg Taylor injured for next week’s duel with Aberdeen, the Spanish kid is eager to press his claim.
The 20-year-old added that Taylor has been quite helpful in settling him in, and he believes the friendly rivalry will only improve the team. Valle responded, “I’m not aware of Greg’s condition. I don’t mind. I just try to work for myself, and if I get the opportunity to play, I will give it my all every time. I don’t bother whether it’s Aberdeen or another team.
“For me, every weekend I do my best and that’s all. It is a healthy competition. Greg has been quite helpful to me since I arrived here. Obviously, for the position, he can provide me excellent advice. He’s a very excellent friend.”
Valle assumed Celtic were a well-known club before joining from Barcelona. However, he stated that he didn’t realise how enormous it was.
It’s something Valle has had to wrap his head around, along with the Scottish weather. He remarked, “If I had to pick one thing that has shocked me, it would be that the club is possibly even larger than I expected.
“I didn’t think it was so enormous, and I didn’t expect such a lively environment as Paradise. The quality of play in training and in each game is excellent. So I’m quite happy. I enjoy living in Scotland. The weather is becoming worse by the day.
“I have to wait until November or December. They told me so! It’s a good city, and I’m enjoying it.
“Obviously, I have close friends in Barcelona with whom I speak every week. Then there’s the family, who come here and enjoy themselves as well. So I’m pleased personally.”
It wasn’t as fun in that hectic debut versus Falkirk. Brendan Rodgers described it as a crash school in British football, and Valle has had the whole Celtic Scottish experience in recent weeks, travelling from Parkhead to Perth, Dortmund to Dingwall, and finishing with a friendly against Sligo Rovers across the Irish Sea.
Valle said: “Well, it was a mix of emotions, because Celtic plays a style of football that everyone knows is different from today’s standards. So, combining that with playing in a more physical league, it was a bit of everything, but I believe I’ve settled in rather well. I am feeling confident.
“I’m just trying to adapt and follow the directions. I’m attempting to figure out what I do wrong in each game and training session so that I can improve here. When I arrived here, I knew there would be a lot of matches, which is ideal for a young player like me. I want as many minutes as I can get.
“There are a lot of contrasting games, which explains it really well. We’ve played in a variety of settings in the last two weeks, including the league, the cup, and Europe.
“It was a little step by step. I started in the cup, trying to figure out where I was and how I could improve. Then I entered the Champions League, followed by the league. “I’m trying to feel better with each game.”
On the pitch, it appears to be the case. Valle looked the part in a hard-fought victory over Ross County and was one of the few to emerge unscathed from the Borussia Dortmund battering. The youngster came on after the break, with Celts already 5-1 down, and the second period was not as brutal.
Valle responded: “Well, maybe. I had a nice appearance. The outcome was difficult to accept. It was a difficult circumstance to enter, but if I were there, I would simply tell myself that I was confidence in my abilities.”
Valle got another 45 minutes under his belt in Sligo, where a fringe Celtic team scored two late goals to secure a win at the Showgrounds and prepare for next week’s Dons showdown. He remarked: “The good thing that we can take is that we fought till the end, with everyone involved.”
Read more at: https://sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply