Top Scorers in Second Division

Although Raúl de Tomás (Rayo Vallecano) has become a real threat by scoring 8 goals in the last 5 matches he has played (for a total of 18), the Madrid-born Jaime Mata has reached the final stretch of the season as the undisputed leader of the top scorers table in Second Division.

The forward, who until now had stood out more for his vision of the game or his fighting spirit than for his accuracy in front of goal, has developed a phenomenal goal-scoring instinct this season, allowing him to accumulate no less than 25 goals in 29 matches, which represents almost 50 percent of the goals scored to date by his team, Real Valladolid (52).

Obviously, his goal-scoring awakening has not gone unnoticed, nor has the fact that his contract with the Castilian club expires on June 30. For both reasons, it seems clear that there will be many teams in the top category considering signing him at the end of the season, as it is rare to recruit a goal scorer of these characteristics without having to pay a euro.

Although the Pucela team would be delighted to continue having him in the future, there are two factors that suggest his departure. The first has to do with the fact that their chances of promotion are currently small (they are 10 points behind the top two positions and must fight for a playoff spot with no less than seven teams separated by just two points), and the second has to do with the player's age. With 29 years old (turning 30 in October), Mata will come across one of his last opportunities to land in La Liga next summer, a fact that will surely influence his decision-making process.

Last season, the top scorer of the second tier, Joselu from Huelva, chose to reject offers from teams in La Liga that had come knocking on his door to commit to Granada, a Second Division team with big ambitions. However, his three immediate pursuers in that ranking did manage to make the leap. Two of them did it with the same team in which they had shone (Roger with Levante and Jorge Molina with Getafe), and the third thanks to Getafe's call (Tenerife-born Ángel Rodríguez). Which path will Mata choose?