Player Focus: Top 5 January signings in La Liga

Oliver Torres (Atlético Madrid to Villarreal on loan)

He’s been heralded as the future of Spanish football, but for now Oliver Torres has landed himself a key loan move. Villarreal profess the sort of football Torres wishes to learn, and after finding it difficult to gain minutes at Atlético Madrid, a role in Villarreal’s push for Champions League qualification seems more viable. Torres can do it all in midfield, from sitting deep and constructing attacks or playing more advanced, darting between midfield and attack. Technically speaking, he’s incredibly gifted, and with the likes of Cani and Gio Dos Santos there is something to savour surely. He can dribble, as shown by his 1.1 successful dribbles per game, and shift it too with Xavi-like precision. His performance against Porto, all 62 minutes of it, was a joy to behold as his rare footsteps on the grandest stage saw him assist a goal and take away a 7.3 WhoScored rating. Villarreal have struck golden; in fact, they’ve struck Spain’s golden boy.