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Wing-Back (right) - Juan Cuadrado | Juventus
While wingers and wide midfielders making the shift to a defensive role is nothing new, rarely has anyone made such a smooth transition as Juventus' Juan Cuadrado. The Colombian player has mostly started at right-back this season and thanks to his accurate crosses and decisive runs down the flank ended up with 10 assists for the season.
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While he has modest stats on most defensive metrics, he made up for any shortcomings with his lightning-quick pace and determination. He closed down the wingers very quickly and helped launch counter-attacks.
Central Midfield - Rodrigo De Paul | Udinese
Udinese captain Rodrigo De Paul had another decent outing in the Serie A as he delivered a top-notch performance in the middle of the park to keep Udinese above the relegation zone.
He scored and assisted nine times in the league, more than any other Udinese player, and was always the most vocal figure on the pitch. He was one of the most creative players in Serie A this term and created 2.3 key passes a game and also completed two crosses per 90.
Reportedly, after five seasons with the club, he is looking for new opportunities and could be on the move after he competes in the Copa America for Argentina. He has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League.
Central Midfield - Franck Kessié | AC Milan
Franck Kessié has been with AC Milan for four seasons and with every passing season, the midfield lynchpin has improved his stature at the club. He was one of the most important players as they secured Champions League qualification. He scored not once but twice from the penalty spot against Atalanta to help Milan finish second in the league standings, their highest finish since 2011.
He notched up 13 goals for Milan this season, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (15) had scored more. He is the designated penalty taker for his side and 11 of his 13 Serie A goals came from the penalty spot.
Central Midfield - Ruslan Malinovskyi | Atalanta
Ruslan Malinovskyi has been one of the standout stars for Atalanta this season. Since the departure of Alejandro Gomez to Sevilla in January, he has been the creative force behind the highest-scoring side in Serie A.
His performances in May have earned him the title of Serie A's player of the month, as he scored twice and provided three assists in five games. The Ukrainian midfielder also ended the season as the top assist provider in Serie A, setting up 12 goals for his teammates. With eight goals himself, he took the goal involvement to 20 in 36 league appearances, of which he only started 22 games.
Wing-Back (left) - Theo Hernandez | AC Milan
AC Milan's third entrant in our team is left-back Theo Hernandez. The Frenchman was one of the best full-backs in Serie A and even across Europe's top five leagues, there were very few full-backs who matched his intensity on the left flank.
With seven goals and five assists in Serie A, he contributed directly to 12 goals this season. His direct approach, dribbling skills and pace made him unplayable at times.
While he has been left out of the French national team squad for the upcoming Euros, he is only 23 and could become one of the best players in his position in the years to come.
Honorable Mentions: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (AS Roma), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Hakan Calhanoglu (AC Milan), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli), Achraf Hakimi (Inter Milan)
