5 Premier League stars who would dominate in La Liga

One debate in football that shows no sign of ending is the question of which domestic league is stronger – England’s Premier League or Spain’s La Liga. It’s easy to make an argument for either really and the differences between the two suggest it’s an impossible decision in the end.

One thing that is for certain though is that both leagues have world-class players who could easily transfer their skills across to the other and succeed. Here are five players from the Premier League who would dominate in La Liga too.

#5 David de Gea

David de Gea is probably the world's best goalkeeper

There’s a reason that Real Madrid have been tracking Manchester United’s Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea for what feels like years now, and it’s a pretty simple one. Right now there’s probably no finer keeper on the planet than the man-bun sporting Spaniard. Gone are the question marks over his ability to command in the box, instead usually replaced by the phrase “David Saves”.

Since joining United back in 2011 he’s made over 300 appearances for the Red Devils and he’s won a laundry list of honours – the Premier League title, the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League and the EFL Cup. He’s also won United’s Player of the Year award for four seasons in a row – from 2013/14 to 2017/18 – the only player to have ever achieved this in club history.

2017/18 was perhaps his finest season to date. De Gea kept 18 clean sheets in 37 Premier League appearances, conceding only 28 goals, and made a phenomenal 115 saves, 12 high claims and 10 catches. In March’s fixture against Crystal Palace, he pulled off probably the save of the season from Christian Benteke’s header – just one amazing stop from the Spaniard in a list of many.

Essentially, without de Gea, it’s doubtful that Manchester United would’ve finished in 2nd place in the league, and there’s absolutely no doubt that he’d dominate the penalty area in La Liga too.

#4 Harry Kane

Harry Kane's goalscoring record is simply phenomenal

Sure, it’s easy to be awed by the insane goal records of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – two players who have dominated La Liga for the best part of a decade now – but the Premier League has a goalscorer who, over the past four seasons, has been as prolific and consistent as anyone in the world. Step forward Harry Kane.

The Tottenham striker was labelled a “one-season wonder” by many detractors after he exploded onto the scene in 2014/15 with a stunning return of 21 Premier League goals in 34 appearances, a surprise given his fruitless prior seasons on loan at other clubs.

Since then, though, that accusation has become little more than a joke. Kane hit 25 in 38 appearances in 2015/16, 29 in 30 in 2016/17 and ended 2017/18 with 30 goals in 37 appearances – his best return to date. No striker in the Premier League has been this consistent since the legendary Alan Shearer.

Sure, Kane still has his detractors – some accuse him of taking too many shots and not being that accurate, but realistically you simply can’t argue with his goalscoring record. He scores with both feet, with his head, from inside and outside the box. He’s the best striker currently in the Premier League and it’s no question that he’d score bucketloads in La Liga too.

#: Mohamed Salah

Mo Salah was involved in more goals than games in 2017/18

Signed by Liverpool for a club record of £36.9m in the summer of 2017, there were fears initially that Mohamed Salah would struggle with the Premier League due to his apparent lack of physicality, as apparently that was the reason he’d been used so sparingly by Chelsea during his brief time there in 2014 before being shipped off to Italy.

Within a handful of games for his new club, that idea went out the window. Salah immediately became Liverpool’s primary attacking weapon, forming a deadly trio alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. And all season long he simply didn’t stop scoring – eventually ending with 43 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions, breaking records along the way.

Throw in his impressive number of assists, too – 14 across the Premier League and Champions League – and Salah was technically involved in more goals than games in 2017/18. That’s a scary statistic and one that points to the Egyptian’s insane attacking talent.

With his unbelievable speed, ability to finish from seemingly any position – even impossible ones like his second goal against Tottenham in February – and tremendous teamwork, Salah is a player who would clearly succeed in any league in the world – including La Liga.

#2 Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard is Chelsea's most dangerous attacking talent

Another player craved by Real Madrid for years now, Chelsea’s Belgian attacker Eden Hazard might blow a little hot and cold at times, but on his day he’s a proven world-class talent who has the ability to change a game at a moment’s notice.

Able to both create and score goals, 2017/18 was one of Hazard’s best seasons to date despite the Blues largely struggling for long periods in the Premier League. Rather than shying away as he arguably did in 2015/16, Hazard stepped up to the mark and became one of Chelsea’s most consistent players – scoring 12 Premier League goals and assisting in 4 over the course of 34 games.

This was even more impressive considering he missed the whole of pre-season – plus the opening league game – after a serious ankle injury.

Able to play pretty much anywhere in the attacking third of the pitch, Hazard seemingly has no weaknesses. With his awesome dribbling ability – the Belgian averaged 4.9 dribbles per league game in 2017/18 – and a load of individual talent (9 Man of the Match awards on WhoScored.com), the sky would be the limit for him in La Liga.

#1 Christian Eriksen

Most of Tottenham's attacking plays come via Christian Eriksen

It’s an often-repeated joke between Tottenham fans that when Barcelona spent over £100m to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in January, they felt a lot of relief as it meant that somehow, the Spanish giants had overlooked their own creative hub – Danish wizard Christian Eriksen.

Signed back in 2013 for just £11.5m by then-boss Andre Villas-Boas, the fee now sounds crazily small for a player who’s become one of Spurs’ most important men. Practically all of Tottenham’s attacking plays seem to come through the Danish star, and 2017/18 was arguably his most impressive season to date.

He scored 10 Premier League goals – a career high for him – but also assisted in a further 10, and in the Champions League, he was equally impressive, scoring 2 and assisting in 1 over 6 games. His passing statistics – an 82.4% success rate in the league – are phenomenal and his goal against Chelsea in April was undoubtedly one of the season’s best.

With the ability to pick a pass from any position, and to provide a huge danger from any dead-ball situation – whether shooting or crossing – Eriksen is the kind of player who would star in any situation – including within La Liga.