Tyrhys Dolan made an explosive start to the season in LaLiga with a goal in Espanyol’s 3-0 win over Levante. The English forward looked particularly sharp. Something has changed. “I am not the person or player I was a year ago,” Dolan tells Sky Sports.

His first year in Spanish football after leaving Championship club Blackburn Rovers had its moments. He played against Real Madrid and Barcelona. But there is more to come, he insists. "I know the league now. I know myself a lot more. I know what I can do."

There is a reason for his optimism. Dolan spent much of last season operating on the right wing. "Pretty much on the touchline. Hanging wide." His job was to cross the ball and his numbers reflected that. "My assist output was much better than my goal output."

It was a learning experience that added to his repertoire. But now Dolan is back on the left. That role change brings new opportunities. "For me, it is better because I can cut in and get more shots off. I can be more dangerous as a left winger," he explains.

"Which way is he going to go?" he asks, imagining the dilemma facing the defender. "Is he going to take it and put across? Is he going to have a shot?" The change has already brought a goal. And it can bring more. "There are more avenues to my game."

Speaking to Dolan, 24, his enthusiasm for the challenge ahead is infectious. Last season turned into a slog for Espanyol after a strong start. They went from chasing Europe in the winter to the very real prospect of relegation in the spring. The slide was alarming.

"You'd be lying if you sit there and say you don't feel the energy around the stadium. We just don't want to have a repeat of that." That big win over Levante suggests something has changed. The buzz is back. "It was just like, yeah, now we're off and running again."

The summer has refreshed him. It was a chance to spend time with family and friends, important for a young man living alone in Barcelona. "Mentally, you need that switch off. Within the season, you are constantly preparing, dealing with emotions, good or bad."

He adds, poetically: "Absence, like they say, does make the heart grow fonder." It is why Espanyol spending much of pre-season in England was a boost. "My mum and dad were at every single game." But, encouragingly, part of him also missed his life in Barcelona.

"It was nice, that feeling, knowing that they were only an hour or so up the road," he says. "But for me, being in Barcelona means being in work mode and as an athlete you love it in that environment. You start missing it when you are away from it for too long."

Dolan has already shown in that game against Levante that he is ready to go again. "It was the perfect way to start. It is that reward for the hard work put in, a confidence boost for the team and obviously for myself too." But there are bigger tests ahead.

Espanyol host Real Madrid on Saturday evening in what will be the first game of the season in LaLiga for the 36-time champions of Spain. Jose Mourinho is back in charge. Kylian Mbappe, in Dolan's view, the best player he faced last season, will be there too.

He called that first meeting with Madrid a pinch-me moment. Now, it feels a little different. Still exciting, but he is approaching it with "a cooler head" and is unconcerned whether his opponent at right-back will be Trent Alexander-Arnold or Denzil Dumfries.

"Anybody. These are the games that you want to compete against the best so that you can bring your best and see where you are at." And his best is changing. "I was happy with what I did in my first season. But I know it is nowhere near what I know that I can do."

The challenge now is to show what he can do on the biggest stages and perhaps bring out that trademark somersault celebration against the world's most famous football club on Saturday. "I felt like I could give more for this team, for the club, for the supporters."

A chance to show that Tyrhys Dolan is a different player now.