Heron Talk presented by Gallagher
As Inter Miami CF looks to secure its spot in the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs, the club added 2020 MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo to further strengthen the attack. CSO and Sporting Director Chris Henderson, head coach Phil Neville and defender DeAndre Yedlin spoke to the media about the addition of Pozuelo and what he brings to the club.
Neville, who coached against Pozuelo and Toronto FC in 2021, commented on what the addition will mean for the club and how the new signing will help the team for the remainder of the regular season.
“I think he brings great experience. He's an MVP of this league and I feel as if it’s a great statement,” Neville said. “Pozuelo and Coco [Corentin Jean] joining makes two more players to add to what we think is already a good young hungry team, a hungry group that hopefully can help us even more compete in the league. And with both signings I think we got great quality.”
“The most impressive thing about Pozuelo is he desperately wanted to come, he desperately wanted to be at Inter Miami,” he added.
Neville was also pleased with the fact that Pozuelo won’t need additional training to be ready to be thrown into the action.
“He’s fit, he doesn’t need to go through any type of pre-season, he’s adjusted to the league, he doesn’t need to adapt.”
Henderson also emphasized the excitement that Pozuelo has toward joining the club.
“He seems really happy to be here. I picked him up last night at the airport, and he’s thrilled to be here and excited to contribute to the team,” said Henderson.
Henderson then touched on what drove the team to make the move and acquire the one-time MLS MVP, one-time MLS All-Star, two-time MLS Best XI honoree, and former MLS Newcomer of the Year finalist.
“When this became a possibility for us, he fit our positional profiles, what we were looking for…Alejandro is a good fit for us, and we got over the finish line. Some of these deals are tough to do, and we’re happy we got him.”
Inter Miami right back DeAndre Yedlin, meanwhile, spoke about the different possibilities and attributes that Pozuelo can add to the squad.
“He’s a creative player, he’s a real 10. He’s a guy who can pull something out of the hat for us if we need it. He has amazing vision, I’ve seen some of his assists and it's incredible. It’s really important that your 10 is not only scoring goals, but also creating goals, and that’s what makes him a great player. He brings everybody together as far as bringing them on the ball and at the end of the day he’ll make us a better team, which is exactly what we want.”
