Football has been put on pause amid the Coronavirus pandemic but while we wait eagerly for its return, we can take stock of the season so far.
This is an opportunity to focus on some of the new players who have burst onto the scene this term.
Here, we list La Liga’s five breakthrough stars of this season, only considering players who have made a maximum of 10 appearances in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Pervis Estupinan (Osasuna)
Estupinan is into his fifth loan spell since joining Watford from LDU Quito in 2016, but the left-back’s performances for Osasuna this season means this could be his last. After impressing for Mallorca in Spain’s second tier last term, a two-year loan stay at newly promoted Osasuna has kicked off in electrifying fashion.
Indeed, the 22-year-old has emerged as one of Europe’s most finely balanced full-backs. Among La Liga defenders, no player has produced more assists from crosses (3), while he ranks third for accurate crosses (31) and is way out in front when it comes to successful dribbles (50). On the flip side, the Ecuadorian is top for tackling (70) and third for interceptions (46).
The reason his numbers are so stellar is that on both sides of the ball he feasts on space. He’s more like a classic winger in that he’ll hurtle forward into vacated areas, immediately pick the ball up, then his head to spot a target, before delivering a measured cross into the box. Give him space and he’ll execute, if an opposition winger has space, though, he’ll also execute. His anticipation and reading of danger is superb, so before a pass even reaches its target, he springs into action and uses his robust base to snap the ball away.
Watford have a recall option this summer, but they’d do well to hold off interest from Europe’s elite first.
Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
Barcelona’s famed academy much like the rest of the club, is rotting. The 2012 La Masia XI is a piece of history now with the conveyor belt of world class talent produced by the academy grinding to a halt in recent years. However, the sudden emergence of Ansu Fati this season has acted like a bolt of lightning through the clouds.
Fati made his debut last August as a 16-year-old and has since gone on to break numerous records. Hold your breath. He’s the club’s youngest scorer in La Liga, the league’s youngest to score and assist in the same game, the youngest in La Liga history to score a brace and the youngest player in Champions League history with a winning goal. He’s hit five goals this season and is not 18 until October – for reference Lionel Messi had only scored once for the Blaugrana before reaching the same age. Fati is a talent indeed.
What is most remarkable about the teenager, though, is not the records or statistics, but his intelligence. The slick winger knows when to penetrate space, knows when he should recycle the ball and knows how to finish, too. There are many, many skillful players in this world, but what separates them all at Fati’s age is mentality, and he has it.
Mohammed Salisu (Real Valladolid)
Real Valladolid are flirting with the bottom three this season, yet their defensive record puts them in La Liga’s top half. Scoring goals has been the issue as opposed to keeping teams out and one big factor for their resoluteness is 21-year-old centre-back Mohammed Salisu.
Injuries at the start of the season forced coach Sergio Gonzalez to expedite initial plans to incrementally introduce him to the senior set-up, but he’s been a mainstay on the left side of Valladolid’s back three since the campaign opened. While still understandably very raw, Salisu has displayed remarkable concentration alleyed with his physical gifts which has seen him dominate both in the air and on the deck. He’s the type of centre-back who loves to engage opponents in the style of a forward-pressure boxer, which explains why no other player has made more clearances in La Liga this season.
Like all modern centre-backs the Ghanian is composed in possession with a respectable 80.5% pass accuracy and that is as much to do with his strength which enables him to fight off pressure with relative ease. He’s still maturing, but a €12 million release clause has predictably piqued the interest of several top clubs with Real and Atletico Madrid joining Manchester United in apparently keeping tabs on his progress.
Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao)
Spain’s current stock of senior goalkeepers haven’t been particularly impressive lately with David De Gea, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Pau Lopez all committing heinous acts of criminal goalkeeping this campaign. However, in Unai Simon, there is much to look forward to. The Athletic Bilbao stopper showed off some of his talent last term when he jumped from fourth in the pecking order to play seven times in La Liga – Athletic’s first choice Iago Herrerin went down injured and third-choice Alex Remiro was locked in a contract standoff. He produced a MOTM display against Real Madrid and has carried that form into this season after winning the battle to be No1.
Only Real and Atletico Madrid have conceded less goals than Athletic this season and while the entire defensive unit is apportioned credit, their 22-year-old goalkeeper deserves high praise considering his save percentage is only bettered by Thibaut Courtois and David Soria. Barring a fumbled cross against Real Valladolid, he’s been outstanding this season, routinely flashing across his goalline to make athletic stops, remaining big in one v ones and using his head, feet, shoulders and whatever else he can put in the way to block shots.
The Basque side have actually managed to upgrade from Kepa and pocket the €80m transfer fee.
Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has mandated that the club sweep up the best young players on the planet. Having been burned by losing out on Neymar to Barcelona, Perez has zeroed in on Brazil as one of the hotspots for emerging superstars with Vinicius breaking through last season and Rodrygo mirroring his counterpart in 2019/20.
In fact, Rodrygo has been so good this season he may have even usurped Vinicius as the club’s best young talent. His game time has been limited this term because he is registered as a Castilla player, but what the 19-year-old has shown in over 1000 first team minutes is that he has bags of ability. He does differ from Vinicius in that he’s a finisher winger rather than a skill flasher, evidenced by his superb Champions League hat-trick against Galatasaray. Two goals in 10 La Liga outings show he belongs at this level. While Vinicius is much faster and possesses more skill, Rodrygo is more direct and clinical. If they could blend their abilities together, they’d form one unstoppable winger.
Zinedine Zidane has given Rodrygo his seal of approval and he was even distinguished as the latest winner of Goal’s NxGn series.
