Santiago Gimenez is ready for a step up and is therefore better off leaving Feyenoord in the short term, advises Mexican national coach Jaime Lozano. According to the selector, the top scorer in Rotterdam is now too good for the Eredivisie and it is necessary for his development to continue in a top European competition.
Lozano has high expectations of the only 22-year-old Gimenez. “He can become the future striker of this Mexico,” he said in conversation with the Latin American channel Star+. “Santi is doing better than expected at Feyenoord, which means I think he is ready for the step to a better competition.”
“It is also good for Santi to take the next step,” adds the enthusiastic Lozano. “Of course the Eredivisie is of a good level, but I think he has now proven that he can reach a higher level in Europe.”
Gimenez, who was hired in 2022, is contracted to Feyenoord until mid-2027, meaning that foreign clubs with interest will have to pay a transfer fee anyway. Transfer market estimates the current transfer value of the Mexican striker in Dutch service at forty million euros.
Gimenez has now scored thirteen goals in the Eredivisie on behalf of Feyenoord this season. Only Vangelis Pavlidis of AZ scored more times (fourteen goals) than the attack leader of the Rotterdam team, who managed to find the net twice in the group stage of the Champions League.
Not undisputed in Mexico
The top scorer is Feyenoord’s undisputed first striker. However, the situation is different with the Mexico national team. Gimenez has started twice in the last four matches, while also serving as a substitute twice. The Feyenoord player has to compete with Raúl Jiménez, Fulham attacker, in Mexico.
“That’s because I have a lot of good players at my disposal,” Lozano explains why Gimenez does not always kick off for Mexico. “The competition is high, but he always plays for me,” the national coach emphasizes about Gimenez, who now has 22 international matches to his name.