Santiago Giménez praised by former Feyenoord star Dirk Kuyt | OneFootball

Santiago Giménez has spoken of his love from the fans after receiving praise from former Feyenoord favourite Dirk Kuyt, Voetbal International reports.

The Mexican international feels very loved as the top scorer for Feyenoord this season. The 22-year-old Mexican did not want to take credit after his two goals against Excelsior to go one-step closer to lifting the Eredivisie trophy. As modest as the striker was, Kuyt was still full of praise for the attacker after working closely with him for a few days.

At the invitation of Arne Slot, Kuyt took a look behind the scenes at Feyenoord this week and, as a former attacker, started working with Giménez, among others. At the away match against Excelsior, the former Liverpool forward who shot Feyenoord to the title in 2017 watched from the side as an ESPN special analyst. Kuyt was again impressed by Giménez’s game, who showed his class, for example, with the way of running free with the second goal.

“He’s back here in the middle of the defenders and he’s really fast. Watching the keeper before he shoots, the rest. In my opinion, he is currently the best striker in the Eredivisie,” Kuyt said.

Giménez was modest in his post-match interview after the Excelsior win despite the praise from fans and pundits alike.

“I don’t feel like I’m the first striker,” he said when it was presented to him that it took a while this season before he became the first striker in Arne Slot’s team.

“We are a team and Danilo has his own tasks, just like me. We work for the same team and with the same price in mind. We are not 11, but a team of 25. Together we give everything to win the title.”

The striker has already scored fourteen times in the Eredivisie this season and has become a crowd favourite. The appreciation for him was expressed in the Excelsior stadium in Mexican flags and sombreros that were brought by Feyenoord players. They had also noticed Giménez:

“It’s great to see kids with a shirt of mine and the Mexican flags and sombreros. I dreamed of this and now I’m living my dream. We have to win next week. Then the dream becomes reality.”

Giménez will now focus on the home game against Go Ahead Eagles, the game in which Feyenoord can take the last step towards the title with a win. He didn’t want to look beyond that championship game and even teased about his future with plenty of interest in him ahead of the summer transfer window.

He added: “I love this club. This club opened the door to Europe for me. I want to grab a prize first and then I’ll see further.”

GBeNeFN | Tom Phillips