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#3 Rodrigo De Paul
Last season in La Liga, Atletico Madrid put on a handsome show to beat favorites Real Madrid and Barcelona in a nail-biting title race. Diego Simeone used Atletico’s deep bench to his advantage and added a new degree to their play when needed. Atletico are getting even stronger this season, particularly thanks to the addition of Rodrigo De Paul.
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The Argentine midfielder, who was developed at Racing Club, has already had a taste of La Liga during his brief spell with Valencia. He shone brightly for Udinese last season and is returning to La Liga with a Copa America winner’s medal.
In Serie A, De Paul featured primarily as a central midfielder. But he also tried his hand further up the pitch. He gave a healthy return of 33 goals and 33 assists in the Italian top-flight, and it would be interesting to see how Simeone utilizes him in the middle of the park.
#2 David Alaba
After enduring a trophyless season, Real Madrid are starting the 2021-22 La Liga season without their first-choice centre-back pairing. Both Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos have moved on in search of greener pastures, and Los Blancos have lured in an unlikely candidate to fill the void.
Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has signed for Real Madrid as a free agent and is getting to wear Sergio Ramos’ legendary number ‘4’ jersey. Considering he is one of the highest paid stars at the club, Real Madrid will not be willing to bench the Austrian or play him out of his favorite position. Unfortunately, Real Madrid already have three contenders for the left-back position and throwing Alaba into the mix would only complicate things.
We believe Alaba will operate alongside Eder Militao at the heart of the Real Madrid defense and be the team’s primary set-piece taker. The defender has enough flamboyance to keep the Santiago Bernabeu crowd happy. And we are eager to see how Carlo Ancelotti manages to unlock his maximum potential under difficult circumstances.
#1 Frenkie de Jong
The Netherlands may have crashed and burned at Euro 2020, but their midfield maestro, Frenkie de Jong, did not leave the pitch without showing his touches of brilliance. His passing, movement and interceptions were on point, and he would be eager to produce more of the same in La Liga 2021-22.
Last season, De Jong was one of the first names on Ronald Koeman’s team sheet, making a whopping 51 appearances for the Camp Nou outfit across all competitions. Out of the 37 games he played in La Liga, he found the back of the net on three occasions, while also pitching in with four assists.
Despite winning the Copa del Rey trophy, Barcelona were left disappointed with last-season's performances, especially in La Liga. To regain lost ground, Barcelona need someone to command the middle of the park with authority. nd there is no better candidate than the impressive Dutchman.
