Brampton’s Cyle Larin on a goal streak with Spain’s Real Valladolid

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Published March 30, 2023 at 10:18 am

Canada's Cyle Larin is shown in action during the World Cup group F soccer match between Croatia and Canada, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Aijaz Rahi

After seeing his playing time dwindle in Turkey with Besiktas, Brampton’s Cyle Larin has found a rich vein of form in Spain with Real Valladolid.

The striker from Brampton has five goals in eight games for the La Liga club.

And the 27-year-old has kept rolling with a three-goal haul in Canada’s CONCACAF Nations League games against Curaçao and Honduras. It could have been four if he had not sent his penalty kick wide in the 4-1 win over Honduras on Tuesday.

“When he came into the World Cup, he had like 100 minutes (playing time with Besiktas) in four months,” said coach John Herdman. “I mean, that’s not Cyle Larin. It wasn’t the Cyle Larin we saw going through World Cup qualification.

“We had a number of players that were at a World Cup that were, I would say, out of real match rhythm, out of that real Tier 1-edge rhythm. But he’s at that now. He’s in a Tier 1 league, scoring goals, and he came into this camp as fit as I’ve seen him … The Cyle Larin we’re seeing now is a guy that could help us win a Nations League final.”

Larin, a former MLS rookie of the year with Orlando City, tops the Canadian men’s all-time scoring list with 28 goals in 60 appearances.

Back in Spain, Larin and Valladolid visit Real Madrid on Sunday.

“He’s going to go in a high, I know that for sure,” Herdman said.

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