Betis went into its Uefa Champions League Matches test against Feyenoord with Troy Parrott due to lead the line at La Cartuja at 21:00, and the striker made it clear that his form is tied to something bigger than goals. Manuel Pellegrini said Parrott would play and praised both him and Cucho, but the Irish forward has built this moment on the confidence he says he found in the Netherlands.
That is why the search around the match today centers on Parrott, not just the fixture. Betis paid 16 million for him after a season in which he scored 31 goals in 48 matches for AZ, and he had already shown he could deliver on a bigger stage with goals against Real Madrid and Lille. Before that, he had worked his way through Tottenham, where he debuted in the Premier at 17 years old against Burnley on 7 December 2019 for five minutes, then on to loan spells with Millwall, Ipswich, Milton Keynes Dons and Preston.
Parrott himself says the move to the Netherlands changed how he carries himself. He said that from the moment he arrived he felt free to be himself, that people there encourage expression rather than judging what you wear or say, and that the confidence he finds off the pitch shows up in the way he plays. He even linked style and football directly, saying personality is reflected in clothing and in the way a player performs.
That matters because Betis needs him now as its only pure striker after Cucho's injury, yet Parrott does not sound as if he is chasing a personal scoreline to fill the gap. He said he does not put that pressure on himself, that he keeps going when things are difficult and that the people who care about him will keep caring, whatever happens in one match. It is an attitude that fits the player who won the Fashion Player award in Amsterdam in 2025 and who says he can show who he is without needing anything loud.
The result against Feyenoord will tell Betis more than whether Parrott starts well. It will show whether the freedom he says he found in the Netherlands can translate into goals when the team most needs them, and whether Pellegrini can lean on one striker alone in a match that carries real weight in the Champions League race.
