“In Spain we have a lot; a lot of good players,” Sanchez stressed to au.fourfourtwo.com.

“I think a lot of Spanish players would be really keen to come here. It would be good for both the Spanish [players] and the A-League,” said Sanchez.

With the troubled Spanish economy hitting many clubs outside the big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid; it could open the door for others like Sanchez seeking an A-League move in the European off-season.

And Sanchez is doing all he can to promote the league.

"Some Spanish newspapers call me and I did a couple of interviews with Spanish TV," he said. “Honestly I have a lot of support from Spain.

"I have a lot of friends in Spain who follow me on the internet. They see the highlights and they are really surprised by the stadiums, the football and they are really jealous of me!"

As Sanchez and Marcos Flores and Carlos Hernandez have shown, you don’t need to arrive with a big profile to become a star in the A-League, you just need the right club and team environment.

Sanchez has that in Wellington and is keen on extending his one-year deal with the club.

The club have yet to tie him down – a fact that may alert a few football operations managers on this side of the Tasman.

“I’m not thinking where I’ll be next year,” he said. “I’m only thinking of the next game.”

In some ways the Malaga-born midfielder has been the perfect import.

He’s brought technical skills and great awareness honed from six years in the Spanish leagues with Alhaurino, Baza, Betis and Murcia.

And at just 27, he has the physicality to compete in this league, as evidenced by his two year stint with Scotland’s Inverness Caledonian Thistle prior to signing with the Kiwis at the start of this season.

The result is a player who has added to the league and most importantly given Phoenix an intelligent cutting edge just behind the strikers.

The feeling is mutual. He has heaped praise on the league and in particular Brisbane Roar – who the classy Spaniard says play like Barcelona.

Sanchez played in Sunday’s game of the round at Wellington’s Westpac as Roar won 2-0 and can't help but be impressed by the reigning Premiers.

“For me I still think they are the best team in the league,” he said. "They try to play no long balls. Everyone knows what they have to do, a lot of movement in the middle.”

Sanchez played for Phoenix on trial against Brisbane Roar in the pre-season and his first game made a lasting impression.

“We lost 5-1 that day in the pre-season," he said. "I was really surprised the way they play. They played like Barcelona.

"I love the way they play. They always believe in this way of football. I’m from Spain and I love this kind of football."

But Sanchez bemoaned the fact the A-League is just a ten team competition after being accustomed to 20 team leagues and longer seasons in Europe.

He noted the potential for monotony in the A-League fixture schedule was an issue for him.

And sadly for Phoenix that doesn’t look like changing with the club seemingly locked out of the chance to play Asian Champions League football.

“Let us go [in the ACL]. It would be massive for us," was his plea.

But that is not dragging down this Spaniard too much. It’s been easy for Sanchez to fit into the dressing room and team talks of Ricki Herbert, he said.

“Before this I was two years in Scotland. And I don’t know if you know the Scottish accent? So for me know to understand Ricki Herbert is too easy compared to Scottish managers, second managers, players or people!

“It’s really, really easy to understand. I understand everything and he is a really good coach who can manage everything. I’m very happy to be under him."

He added: “The best thing about the A-League is the tempo of the games. All the teams try to play the ball. It has a good feel.

“It’s quite a technical league but also physical because it’s high tempo and you need to be fit to play in this league.

“You can see when I’m playing, I’m happy and smiling.”

Follow me on Twitter @aidothejourno