In it soccerCrises also generate opportunities. And they almost always come in the form of youth players. When a team goes through financial difficulties, it is forced to look at the youth team. A need that ends up translating into a window of opportunity for young people who would otherwise have gone missing. According to FIFA data, The league was sixth in transfer investment in the summer: 378 million, behind the Premier (2,800), Saudi Arabia (817), Ligue 1 (802), Bundesliga (717) and Serie A (664).
The situation is far from changing, with salary limits becoming stricter. However, contrary to an initial trend that involved incorporating more ‘veteran’ players such as Gündogan, Lewandowski, Sergio Ramos or Daley Blind; The age curve has changed and the start of the championship has catapulted young Spanish talents. Confirmation of a generational transition for which established stars such as Jude Bellingham, the great addition of Real Madrid and the entire LaLiga, have already done a lot.
“Hopefully they will be the basis of the 2030 World Cup in Spain”
The Lamine Yamal, Fermín, Assane Diao, Javi Guerra, Diego López, Bryan Zaragoza or Samu Omorodion; To name just a few introductory names, they are the seed of the present and will develop with the World Cup 2030of which Spain will be co-host, in the horizon of its growth. “Hopefully this team will be the basis of the 2030 World Cup in Spain”defended Santi Denia, under-21 coach, before this international window.
Players born in the 2000s and whose first great challenge will be to win gold in the Paris Olympics 2024. To this we must add the blind trust that Luis de la Fuente has in the players with whom he has worked at the base of the national team and even those with whom he has not coincided. This is reflected in the call for Bryan Zaragozaa footballer who, without having gone through the youth ranks, was called up to the senior team after his spectacular start to the season.
Theirs is one of the most powerful emergences of the 2023/2024 season. Especially if you consider that a year and a half ago he was playing in the Second RFEF (fourth category). In Granada we must also highlight Álvaro Fernández (20), on loan from Manchester United.
The ‘Quinta del Pipo’ and Assane Diao
Of all the teams, Valencia is the paradigmatic example. Economic mismanagement and disenchantment forced Rubén Baraja to countersteer. Like his successors, he publicly complained about the lack of reinforcements until he found a remedy in Paterna. There are several names that are already essential in his scheme, such as Javi Guerra (20), Diego López (21) and Fran Pérez (21).
The one already known as ‘Quinta del Pipo’, after the coach who gave them the opportunity, is, in addition to sporting value, an economic support for the future of the entity. The situation is repeated in many of the cases that have arisen during this campaign. Javi Guerra, midfielder, has attracted the attention of Premier teams such as Manchester United and Newcastle. In just a few months, it has gone from having a valuation of two million to having a market price, according to ‘Transfermarkt’, from 20 million euros. To these we must add other players with minutes in the first team such as the center back Christian Mosquera (19).
A similar case has occurred at Betis. Unique, but very powerful. The one of Assane Diao (18), who has already been called up for the first time with the under-21 team. Last season he finished as a Betis Juvenil A player in the Honor Division, although he participated in the Second RFEF reserve team. In a matter of weeks he has jumped three categories at once and kicked down the door. In four games as a starter with the Betis first team he has scored three goals.
Lamine Yamal and Fermín López, Barça talent
Diao’s is a perfect example of scouting, both for the green and white team and for the national team. He was signed at 16 from Ballon de Cádiz. He arrived as a midfielder, but has matured as a center forward. Although born in Senegal, he has always been international with Spain, a country he arrived with his family when he was three years old. In an increasingly effervescent football scene, this week it emerged that his clause would reach 30 million euros.
Closer to the media focus, FC Barcelona has once again turned on the tap of the quarry. The explosion of Lamine Yamal It is planetary, because it has broken all records for precocity. At almost 16 years old, he is the fastest in everything: in scoring a goal in LaLiga, in making his debut with the senior team… At a different speed, but also with direct focus, he is Fermin Lopez, who excited Xavi in the preseason. He even scored a great goal in the ‘Clásico’ in Dallas.
All this without forgetting that Pedri, injured, is 20 years old, while Balde and Gavi are 19. Three footballers without whom it is not impossible to understand the Barça club today. The same thing happens with other teammates on the national team, who, due to their explosion and rapid consolidation, seem younger than they really are: Nico Williams (21) and Yeremy Pino (20) are comparable to that ‘World Generation 2030’, born in the 2000s that De la Fuente hopes to lead, as he ambitioned in an interview with El Periódico de España, from the Prensa Ibérica group.
Omorodion, the striker that Atlético took
In summer, Atlético was ahead of all those interested in signing Samu Omorodion, a 19-year-old striker from Melilla – although raised in Seville – who had shone with the Granada reserve team. The forward of the under-21 team who has already scored this season, in which he plays on loan for Alavés, where he is also the protagonist Rafa Marin (21), on loan from Castilla.
The outbreaks spread to other LaLiga teams. From top to bottom in the current classification, in Girona, revelation of the championship, they are having a leading role Miguel Gutierrez (twenty), Arnau Martínez (22) and has even been reborn Eric Garcia (22), another of those ‘joveteranos’, a species with many kilometers on it despite its young age. At Atlético, until his injury, Pablo Barrios (20) had been one of the few positive news from a team that had a hard time getting started. In Athletic, Aitor Paredes (23) has consolidated himself in the axis of the defense alongside Dani Vivian.
In the Royal Society, Ander Barrenetxea (21), has recovered from all the physical problems that plagued him in past championships and is showing his power on the wing of one of the fittest teams in Europe. Your partner Beñat Turrientes (21) has already had more starts this season than in the entire previous one, while Jon Pacheco (22) accumulates more and more experience. In Rayo he continues to mature Camel (22), after making the most of last season’s loan. At UD Las Palmas, Mika Marble (22) is offering a master’s degree as a center.
Baena and the ‘young veterans’ under-23
Bordalás is counting on Getafe with Juanmi Latasa (22) and Carmona (twenty-one). The Osasuna game goes through Aimar Oroz (21) and they continue to gain weight Iker Muñoz (twenty-one). In Cádiz, Robert Navarro (21) is trying to carve out a niche for himself to prove his worth. Juanlu Sánchez (20) is one of the few reasons for Sevilla’s pride in its complicated start to the season. In Mallorca Javi Llabrés (21) has obtained a first team record.
Like Yéremi Pino, Alex Baena (22) is another of those under-23 players who Luis de la Fuente has given the opportunity to make their senior debut. It is the support of a Villarreal team that, in its bad start to the season, has also relied on Ramon Terrats (22), for which the Castellón team made the purchase option official after a good loan. Ilias Akhomach (19) is still a testimonial player in the yellow team, but he is one of the strongholds of the under-21 team.
Celta saw how Gabri Veiga (21), A Madroa’s biggest recent product, was leaving for Saudi Arabia. However, the celestial quarry continues to nourish the first team. They are an example of this Carlos Dominguez (22) and Hugo Sotelo (19). AND Sergio Arribas (22) has been one of the supports that the bottom team, UD Almería, has clung to. All of them form the ‘World Generation 2030’, a fifth born from who has broken down the limits of development in a context of need. Something that their clubs and LaLiga appreciate.