Vallejo is taking a step closer to first-team action
CARLOS Corberan was pleased to see Alex Vallejo move one step closer to Championship readiness with an assured display in the back three against Plymouth Argyle.
Vallejo was the fans’ clear man of the match on his full debut for the club having previously played just 25 senior minutes since signing as a free agent in October.
An entirely different starting line-up made up of young prospects and fringe players took to the field for the 3-2 defeat to League One Plymouth Argyle, who fielded a full-strength team, with Corberan aiming to ‘grow the squad’ by getting competitive minutes into his back-up options.
On Vallejo specifically, the Huddersfield Town head coach said: “Alex wasn’t able to show enough his level until this game because he had some minutes for the B-team and we didn’t show him enough (in the first team).
“But, for me, he made a good step in offering more possibilities to the squad and to the team.
“He’s a midfielder, can drop and play as a centreback as he did here.
“But sometimes this position allows him and any midfielder to be more comfortable because he was not defending like a real centre-back - he was the free defender in a line of three centre-backs versus their two strikers.
“It’s not the same to play as a midfielder because, for me, playing higher up the pitch is more demanding. So I think the step he made was a good step, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready enough yet because to play in midfield you need to train your body more and make different types of movements.
“But playing as a centre-back we’re happy with the performance he had.”
Corberan added: “I think it’s always difficult when you’ve gone a long time without playing.
“He hadn’t played since the previous December, so that’s always going to take more time, especially at our club.
“And I think in terms of Alex’s style, one of his strengths is his organisation of the game.
“He’s more technical than defensive, so he needs to adapt a lot to the demands of the Championship.
“It’s a totally different league to the Spanish second division.
“So I think he needed to complete two steps – to adapt his body to real competition and to get real minutes.
“This was the first time he had time to use those minutes.
“The second thing was to adapt to a league that’s totally different in terms of the space and the time that you get on the ball and in terms of the number of challenges you have to make.
“Some players are going adapt faster, others not and we are evaluating every day to see the steps they have to make.”