A year ago, Carlos Espi hadn’t scored a single goal in top-flight football. He was playing for Levante UD, a club newly returned to La Liga after three years in the second division. Twelve months later, the following happened:
– Espi helped Levante avoid relegation by scoring 13 goals in five months;
– He moved to the most successful club in soccer history;
– Was called up to lead the line for the reigning World Champions.
Granted, Carlos Espi’s first call-up to the Spain squad was an emergency call, but it came a day after he had scored five goals on his Spain U21 debut. With an injury to Ferran Torres in Spain’s Nations League campaign, boss Luis de la Fuente had no doubt who he would call up for the remaining fixtures, a striker that hadn’t shaken up Spanish soccer quite like this in a while.
The Rise of Carlos Espi
Born in the Valencian Community, Espi joined Levante UD in 2022 and was a breakout performer. His ascent to the top was very rapid, despite his youth years before moving to Levante being often slow and toiling.
In November 2023, after being promoted from the Juvenil and reserves, he made his first start for Levante B and scored his first career goal in a 2-1 win over Silla. Scoring on his debuts would be a trend the forward would repeat quite often in the future. The ascension continued as just four months later he would debut for Levante in the Segunda Division, but would not score his first professional goal until May 2024.
The following season, he scored six goals to help Levante get promoted to La Liga for the first time in three years. The club had a rocky start to life back in the first division and Espi wasn’t counted on by manager Julian Calero, prompting ideas that Espi would leave the club. But an injury around Christmas prevented him from leaving, and so he decided against moving in the winter window.
The Turning Point
In January 2026, he scored his first top-flight goal in a 3-0 win against Sevilla. A month later, he scored twice against Alaves in quick succession. Luis Castro took over at Levante and the new manager continued giving Espi minutes, even renewing his contract until 2028.
The result? Espi would go on to score 11 goals in the second half of the season, be awarded the La Liga U23 Player of the Season and become a local hero in Valencia, before being bought out by Real Madrid.
Carlos Espi at Real Madrid
The summer was busy for the forward. He was included in Luis de la Fuente’s 55-man preliminary squad for the World Cup but didn’t make the cut. Premier League clubs like Hull City and Brighton circled like vultures for his signature from Levante. FC Barcelona were considering him as a replacement for Lewandowski and a Plan B if the Julian Alvarez deal didn’t go through. Amidst all this, old man Florentino Perez quietly came in and swooped Espi off to Madrid.
For a meager release clause of around $29 million, Espi joined the 36-time Spanish champions on a contract until 2031. Signed as an understudy to Kylian Mbappe to fill the gap left by outgoing Gonzalo Garcia, few would have predicted the start to life in the capital Espi would have.
On his official debut for the club, he came on as a substitute and helped Real Madrid win the game by scoring a 90th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Espanyol. A few matches later, Espi would again save Real Madrid in the 91st minute off the bench, scoring a winner to beat Elche 3-2. In just 25 minutes of soccer at Real Madrid, Espi has won them six points, garnering himself the super-sub tag and comparisons to similar forward Joselu.
The Pathway to Spain
Espi’s first time wearing the colors of Spain was with the U19 team in 2024, with whom he played two games and scored two goals. This was followed by a promotion to the U20s a year later, where he played twice.
After his breakout 2025/26 season, a lot of critics and fans were expecting Espi to be called up directly for the senior side under De la Fuente, but that did not happen. Instead, he was called up for the U21 Spanish side in September 2026, where he was going to make his debut against San Marino.
He started up front for Spain U21, and it took only 34 minutes for him to score his first goal at the U21 level. In the second half, he then added goals in the 52nd, 62nd, 68th and 74th minutes to have a grand total of FIVE goals in that match. He also provided two assists as Spain beat San Marino by a whopping scoreline of 13-0.
That was his first hat trick at any level and he was knocking, or rather, breaking down the door of the senior team. With Ferran Torres withdrawing midway through the break due to injury, Espi got his deserved call-up.
What Makes Carlos Espi So Different?
It has truly been a while since such a powerful, proper number 9 profile forward popped up in the headlines for Spain. Over the years, Spain has had the golden strikers like Raul, Fernando Torres and David Villa, who were exceptional in front of goal and rank among Spain’s top scorers of all time.
Briefly, there was a phase where Spain shied away from mainstream proper strikers and relied on false 9s, non-conventional or a little-less lethal strikers like Alvaro Morata, Rodrigo Moreno, Gerard Moreno and, of course, the most unconventional man of them all, World Champion Mikel Oyarzabal.
Only recently under Luis de la Fuente has Spain started to profile positions more precisely, which has led to strikers like Joselu, Samu Aghehowa and now Carlos Espi coming into the picture.
The Profile
At 1.94 meters and extremely physical, Espi is a target forward and hard to mark in the box. He has lethal instincts for giving his defender the slip and being in the right places for late runs and rebounds.
Espi has also proven he doesn’t need time to adapt to the game situation. Put him on as a super sub, he is dangerous. Start him and give him the full 90, he is more than capable of troubling the defense and bagging a goal or two.
Compared to Mikel Oyarzabal, Espi is not as mobile and not involved in link-up play as much, but that might be exactly what Spain need. Spain have suffered for years with predictability with their tiki-taka system, which is why changing to a new version of it under de la Fuente was so important.
How Spain Can Use His Profile?
Once time passes and the opposition figures out the attacking patterns of the Spanish side, Espi could then very well take the mantle over from Oyarzabal and bring something new to the table.
Players like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams feeding a forward like Espi will be a sight to see, especially when you consider how good his position is for either low crosses or headers. Even if Lamine decides to curl one from outside, you can bet that Espi would be in the right position to anticipate a rebound off the woodwork or a parry by the keeper.
In low-block systems like the one against Czechia, the skill of being in the right place at the right time is invaluable.
At just 21, he is still a raw striker, especially when you consider historical data that says strikers tend to have their prime in their mid to late 20s. If he is this good now, how good will he be in a few years’ time?
What’s Next for Carlos Espi?
Espi joins up with the Spanish National Team for the fixture against Croatia, the final one this international break. Roberto Fernandez got his debut against Czechia, Oyarzabal started against Croatia, and Ferran led the line vs. England. With nine points out of nine and a shaky Croatia to face, Carlos Espi has a solid case of appearing in a red shirt, even if for a cameo appearance.
Regardless of whether he plays or not, he will report back to the Spanish capital expecting some more regular game time now, with Kylian Mbappe picking up an injury ruling him out of club football for a while. With only Endrick and Carlos Espi recognized as #9s in the Madrid side and Endrick being out of form and lacking sharpness, Espi might see his first full start for the club.
Spain will hope he keeps getting game time and develops. Real Madrid will hope he doesn’t pick up a knock if he plays for Spain. Whatever may happen, what matters is Carlos Espi continues to get regular game time.
A striker profile with such quality has popped up like a wild Pokémon for Spain, and if his nation grooms him well, Carlos Espi is well equipped and ready to lead La Roja for years to come.
Abhik Deb is an accomplished sports journalist and content creator, renowned for his innovative approach to digital storytelling within the football world. With a Master’s degree in Sports Journalism and Communications from Universidad Europea de Madrid, Abhik brings a sophisticated understanding of both traditional journalistic tenets and contemporary digital media strategies to his work. His professional journey includes a significant tenure as a multimedia journalist at Real Madrid C.F., where his contributions spanned video editing, scriptwriting, and on-camera presenting. Notably, Abhik made history as the first Indian to record a live stand-up from the hallowed Santiago Bernabéu pitch for Real Madrid TV, underscoring his pioneering spirit and influential presence. A specialist in La Liga and Spanish football, Abhik excels at captivating audiences through viral football content and insightful documentary-style videos. His natural ability to blend rigorous journalism with creative digital storytelling is evident in his independent fan channel, ‘LaLigaVic,’ where he cultivates a growing audience through engaging, original coverage of Spanish football culture. Abhik’s proficiency extends to social media strategy and audience engagement, crucial skills in today’s digital landscape. You can explore more of Abhik’s work on Hooligan Soccer and Muckrack. Connect with Abhik on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to follow his continuous dedication to delivering high-quality, authoritative sports content.
