Veiga is backed to make big impact in the EPL by former Brighton boss

Gabri Veiga, the Celta Vigo midfielder coveted by the Premier League's elite clubs, has been backed to make a lasting impact should he choose a move to England this summer.

That's according to former Brighton manager Oscar Garcia who has taken a keen interest in Veiga's progress since seeing him emerge as a young boy.

The 20-year old's impressive performances have made him a target for Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham and Liverpool with a buy out clause set at £35million.

Acutely aware of the building interest and pending transfer, agents have also been courting the talented youngster and his family, keen to represent him in his next move. Several big agents, including Pep Guardiola's brother Pere have made their pitch, but Veiga now looks likely to join up with well-established Israeli transfer negotiator Pini Zahavi.

It all points to a new and bigger stage for the Spain U21 international and former Brighton and Watford coach Oscar Garcia believes Veiga won't disappoint.

An attacking midfielder himself with Barcelona in his playing days, Garcia worked with the young Veiga while coaching at Vigo.

And he is effusive in his appraisal about Spain's latest great prospect, saying Veiga has the traits of top Premier League midfielders such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

'I don’t like to compare players, but there are some similarities with players from other generations, such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, in terms of the type of midfielder that he is,' Garcia told Mail Sport.

'I believe he is a player who performs better when he is free to display all his physical strengths, allied to his very good technique.

'He is more of a midfielder who can play box to box, rather than a player in the style of Sergio Busquets or Rodri, who are more positional. He uses more of the field to show all the level that he has.

'Maybe if he must play more positional as a holding midfielder it is more difficult to see all his potential. But his main strengths are in possession of the ball, where he can eliminate many rivals with his movement, he can skip many lines of pressure from the opponent. Besides, he is a player who likes to arrive into the box.

'It's another thing that I really liked about him, because lately there haven't been many midfielders who have come into the box from the second line and it's one of his qualities and one of his most important abilities.'

Garcia, who was in contention for the manager's job at Leicester City earlier this month and is considering a coaching return to England, added: 'I think he is capable of adapting and being successful in any league, including the Premier League.

'He’s capable of adapting to many in-match scenarios and possesses qualities that you don’t often find in the modern game, particularly amongst young players.

'Right from when I first saw him, it didn’t matter to him whether he was playing for the youth team, the reserve team or the first team. I found that amazing.'

Veiga had one of his least effective games during Vigo's recent defeat by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. It left some Spanish commentators saying he had fluffed his audition in front of Carlo Ancelotti but rumours still abounded of Madrid president Florentino Perez discussing a potential transfer with his Vigo counterparts after the game.

Garcia, 50, has been credited with nurturing the talents of several young stars throughout his coaching career, including Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Naby Keita and Munas Dabbur. He also played an influential role in the development of Hugo Ekitike and on-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who he drafted in at Reims last summer. With that in mind he underlines the importance of the decision Veiga and his prospective new agent Zahavi make over his next step.

'He has the potential to play for any top-level team,' says Garcia, 'But he’s still very young and has to continue to progress to fulfil his potential and he’ll need to continue to get minutes on the pitch if he’s to do so.'