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Age: 20 | Club: Almeria (on loan from Liverpool) | Nationality: Spanish | Position: Attacking Midfielder | La Liga Appearances: 15
The Almeria man who’s on loan from Liverpool has made a splash in the La Liga pool with some of his performances. There were a lot of expectations of him, especially after some of his performances in England last season, and he has lived up to them. The young attacking midfielder has scored 2 and made 5 goals in 15 appearances.
Going forward, he has always been a threat for the opposition. This season, he averages 2 dribbles and 1 key pass per game, at a respectable completion rate of 74% (he plays in the attacking third, remember). He’s been quite regular as well, and a good second half performance will give Rodgers a tough decision to make next season.
Despite Almeria’s poor form, Suso has been a shining light in the side, standing out with his performances and not shy to take on a man or two. It’s his individual performances that have helped Almeria just about push above the relegation zone, and helped Suso remain high up on this list
2. Daniel Carvajal ( ? 1 )
Age: 21 | Club: Real Madrid | Nationality: Spanish | Position: Right-Back | La Liga Appearances: 14
Big things were expected of Carvajal after his move back to the Santiago Bernabeu and rightly so. The Spaniard had put in some terrific performances for Leverkusen last season, and Real needed to fill the void at right back. He has performed decently so far, without really taking off. Making 10 starts in the league, he’s come on as a sub as well 4 times.
Defence has been his strength, making 2 tackles and interceptions a game at an average. Going forward, 1 assist so far doesn’t really do justice to his potential, but considering the fact that he has Ronaldo, Bale and co. ahead of him, he is probably doing well by just holding fort.
Just being a regular in the Real side at such a young age is an achievement in itself. Might be slightly unfair then that despite that he has lost top spot. His performances don’t go unnoticed, he won’t be far from here at the end of the season.
1. Rafinha Alcantara ( ? 2 )
Age: 21 | Club: Celta Vigo (on loan from Barcelona) | Nationality: Brazilian | Position: Forward | La Liga Appearances: 16
Alcantara is a promising young talent on loan from the mighty Barcelona at Celta Vigo. He has grown into the team and has been deployed by Enrique across the park in various positions. He’s made 16 appearances, of which 12 have been starts, and managed to score thrice and assist twice in the league.
He has a very respectable pass completion rate of 85% as well, and as an attacking midfielder, this is a crucial stat for him. Rafa will look to produce more of the same post Christmas in an attempt to impress the powers that be at the Nou Camp.
Rafinha has shown what he is capable of after getting a regular run of football, something which he didn’t at Barcelona. His talent is exceptional; make no mistake, we are going to be hearing a lot about this player for years to come. No surprise then, that he takes the top spot in our list.
