Three things in life are certain: death, taxes and Valencia producing quality left-backs. The Spanish club have made a name for it, turning out Jordi Alba, Juan Bernat, Alex Grimaldo and Jose Gaya. Next through the ranks, when I first wrote this, was a 20-year-old Valencian named Alex Centelles. Could he reach his predecessors? Here is what we saw then.
Player Profile | Alex Centelles
Date of Birth: August 30, 1999
Place of Birth: Valencia
Nationality: Spanish
Height: 185cm
Position: Left-Back
Preferred Foot: Left
Who was Alex Centelles back then?
Born in Valencia, Alex Centelles joined his hometown club's academy at eight. He spent a full decade there before stepping up to the U19 squad, where he lasted one season, then moved to the B team, Valencia Mestalla. That is where he caught the eye of the people running the senior side. He was called up for Valencia's pre-season tour and made a couple of friendly appearances, and by the time I was watching him he had been loaned to FC Famalicao in Portugal's Liga NOS. He also had two caps to build on with Spain's U19s.
His style of play
Centelles was known mostly for getting forward, playing quick one-twos and overlapping to create counter-attacks down the left. He loved running at opponents, backing himself to leave them for dead in a foot race. He was not a natural dribbler though, so that part of his game carried risk, especially when his side got caught on the back foot.
There was more to him than the attacking. He defended well too, which you would expect of a player who was a defender first. He looked comfortable in both phases and switched between attacking and defending without much trouble, reading when to push on and when to sit, which is not something you can take for granted in a full-back that young. It was that adaptability, the willingness to do the ugly defensive work as readily as the marauding runs, that made me think he had a real chance of sticking at the top level.
His strengths
At 1.85 metres you might expect him to struggle to chase runners down. He did the opposite. He had real speed and decent acceleration, which let him bomb down the left flank and cause the opposition problems, then get back and match attackers stride for stride. Running straight at him rarely worked.
Those strengths were backed by his agility and, the thing I liked most, his off-the-ball work-rate. Alex tended to be in the right place at the right time, giving teammates an option or opening space with his runs.
His weaknesses
His concentration and anticipation worried me, and both are crucial for a defender who needs to fix them fast. Heading was another soft spot: he often lost aerial duels, which made him a target for long balls. He was not as aggressive as you want a left-back to be either, and got bullied in physical battles. That last one is the kind of thing game-time usually sorts out.
What we saw that season
At the loan club Famalicao, Centelles had featured in 12 matches and nailed down the left-back spot, playing every minute available to him. It showed he was ready for intense first-team football. Famalicao were sitting fourth, punching well above their weight, and he was mostly deployed as a defensive left-back with two assists to his name. My question at the time was simply whether he and the team could keep it up.
Add in his youth football and he had racked up close to 90 appearances across three years, which is a serious grounding for a player that age. Valencia loaning him out rather than selling told me they rated him and wanted him blooded, and the obvious question hanging over him was whether his future would actually be back at Valencia or somewhere else entirely. He was maturing fast in the position, and I expected that curve to keep climbing.
Where is he now
Here I have to own a miss. I floated Atletico Madrid as a realistic step, Real Madrid or Barcelona as the dream, and Manchester City as a wildcard while they were short at left-back behind Benjamin Mendy. My actual advice was to stay at Valencia. What happened instead was a permanent move to Almeria, where he has spent his whole senior career since, up and down between La Liga and the Segunda Division. My dream scenario had him chasing European football at the very top of the game, and the reality has been steadier and more grounded than that, nowhere near the elite ceiling I entertained. A useful lesson in not letting the Valencia left-back production line inflate a forecast.
| Season | Club | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | Almeria | 14 | 0 |
| 2021/22 | Almeria | 22 | 0 |
| 2022/23 | Almeria | 15 | 1 |
| 2023/24 | Almeria | 14 | 0 |
| 2024/25 | Almeria | 36 | 2 |
| 2025/26 | Almeria | 22 | 0 |
Reading the table now, the standout is his 2024/25 return in the Segunda Division, 36 appearances and a couple of goals, comfortably his busiest campaign and proof he can be a genuine mainstay at that level. His two La Liga seasons with Almeria gave him the top-flight taste I wanted for him, even if the club could not stay up. I asked back then whether he could go a step further than former Valencia man Jordi Alba. The honest answer is no, not on this evidence, but he has carved out the steady professional career that plenty of academy left-backs never manage, and there is no shame in that.
His early transfer record is on Transfermarkt. For his live ratings and current form, see our scout report on Alex Centelles.
