12 LaLiga rookies who could make 2025-26 their breakout season
On the cusp of the new campaign, it's time to make some informed-but-speculative shots...
Admittedly, the term ‘breakout’ can seem a little ambiguous. Deciphering who has or hasn’t yet ‘broken out’ would result in different answers depending on who you ask. But it’s (still) pre-season and it’s time for a bit of fun before the real stuff sweeps us away.
In general, we’ll be sticking to players on the younger end of the spectrum who your average LaLiga fan might not yet be aware of, or has only briefly heard of and/or seen.
The goal is to try and hit on the players who’ll appear into some sort of prominence this season — whether it’s through sheer force of ability that can no longer be denied or through finding the right opportunities, having considered the context of their situation.
That, of course, rules out a number of players with talent that exceeds some who will make the list. Take Dro Fernández, for example. It’s impossible not to like what we’ve seen in pre-season and we’d love to see him playing meaningful minutes for Barcelona in 2025-26, but is it likely? Even with Hansi Flick’s exceptional work on the youth front, Dro has Dani Olmo and Fermín López ahead of him in the no. 10 queue, as well as other alternatives like Raphinha starting centrally or Gavi beefing up the midfield three.
(Some will no doubt contest that, but hopefully you get the point.)
The only hard-and-fast rule of our final list is that players can only be selected if they have made fewer than 10 starts in LaLiga. We’re not going to give ourselves any tap-ins.
And so, over to the list. In no particular order…
🔴 Stanis Idumbo (20) — Sevilla, Winger
Sevilla hasn’t been an easy place to make your way in recent years. Organisational instability and coaching changes have built up, and it’s seemed as if they couldn’t quite decide on the way forward, flipping radically between styles of coaches they’ve opted for.
The latest of those, Matías Almeyda, does seem to have taken a shine to Stanis Idumbo, though. The Belgian has seen plenty of protagonism throughout pre-season, forming a dynamic three behind the striker (along with Ruben Vargas and Dodi Lukebakio) that looks like it’ll last into the new season. Indeed, it almost certainly seems like the best and most dangerous attacking look that Almeyda will be able to get going with.
Playing from the left of that trio, Idumbo has been nothing short of vibrant. Imprecise at times, granted, but offering real optimism as to his potential contribution in the short term. He’s quick and shifty on the ball, and most importantly, get through his work with a nice sense of balance. He can flow nicely into his next action or decision while moving at speed, avoiding the look of a winger who takes off with intention and then gets flustered at what comes next.
There’s no doubt about what he can do with the ball. Stand him wide, feed him a pass, and he can go to work in breaking defences down – be it through an individual dribble or bouncing give-and-go passes off teammates. If he can develop a dependable contribution in running behind and moving effectively without the ball at his feet, Idumbo can be a real player at this level.
(Annoyingly, it appears he has picked up a minor injury on the cusp of the season and will be unavailable for the opener… he had a lot of momentum coming out of the friendly games, and we’ll be anticipating his return.)
🔵 Jon Martín (19) — Real Sociedad, CB
The partnership of Robin Le Normand-Igor Zubeldia – one of LaLiga’s best in its day -- looked as if it might put the brakes on Jon Martín’s anticipated arrival in the first team. However, with Le Normand’s departure to Atlético Madrid, followed by just the one-season loan for his ‘replacement’ Nayef Aguerd, it has left the youngster in a suddenly strong position to make his move.
(Real Sociedad have brought in Duje Ćaleta-Car as an experienced right-sided option, but with all due respect, the Croatian is a lower calibre of player than he’s previously been battling for minutes against.)
For the 19-year-old, it’s always felt like a matter of when, rather than if, he would rise to become a first team player. Between his ability, physical presence, and the fact he plays for one of LaLiga’s most academy-driven clubs, the pathway we always expected for him now looks pretty close to being solidified. And there’s a good case to be made he’s now a part of their best possible centre back duo, even without considering the likes of pathways and development.
Although it’s only one facet of the game, Martín is already the most dominant aerial player that Real Sociedad have. In fact, he might even be one of the most dominant in Spain. Accounting for his appearances in LaLiga and at the U19 EUROs last season, he sustained an 80% aerial duel success rate through 97 contested (78/97) – a quite staggering return.
Martín is a force in the air, a strong competitor on the ground, and dependable enough with his distribution. Refining all those attributes and becoming the senior centre back that La Real believe he can become will only happen with real time experience. Now looks like a good time to commit to that.
⚪ Gonzalo García (21) — Real Madrid, Winger/CF
Alright, this is probably the easiest one. After his showing at the Club World Cup, not many will need much help in placing the name Gonzalo García. But he is a newbie without any LaLiga starts to his name, and thus, eligible for our arbitrary list.
It’s absolutely no surprise that the 21-year-old look set to be part of Xabi Alonso’s plans this season. He’s versatile in attack, plays with permanent intensity, and most definitely has that something in the penalty area. It’s a no-brainer to have him part of the squad. At worst, García will guarantee Real Madrid a jolt of vitality off the bench and be able to run the legs off tired defences.
The question is how far he’ll be able to take his opportunity, given he’s surrounded by high-profile attackers being paid a lot of money, who will likely play independent of form. But if Real Madrid continue to flounder in their collective defensive efforts and Xabi Alonso feels he has no other option than to address it significantly, then García becomes an attractive option for a team who need balance.
At this stage, García’s big selling point is his running power in and out of possession. It sounds like an awfully simplistic way to put things and one that sells his ability short, but he is a workhorse attacker in a land where the other attackers very much aren’t. If it’s that that earns him opportunities — where he can then uncover the rest of his game in the process — he would most certainly take it.
The fact is Real Madrid’s biggest active problem is that their collective defending is well short of Europe’s best teams. And it’s not simply a matter of ill-timed, lethargic pressing. They don’t do the basics of maintaining a shape very well, leading to a cascading effect of gaps being opened and players behind the frontline having to scramble around in rotation. Xabi Alonso knows that can’t continue to be the case if his project is to take flight — and that Gonzalo García is an emergency lever to pull, in the event that Plan A becomes untenable.
And if Plan A does work? Perfect. Real Madrid have a high-octane attack who can finally stop being played through, and a whirlwind young canterano to bring off the bench and fill in the kinder parts of your schedule.
🟡 Etta Eyong (21) — Villarreal, CF
Give yourselves a pat on the back, Villarreal. After selling Thierno Barry to the Premier League riches after just one season at the club — a reality they no doubt had in mind the day they signed him — they haven’t even had to return to the market (yet) to find what looks like a worthy replacement.
Etta Eyong is a Cameroonian forward who arrived at the club a year ago, initially joining up with the B team after being plucked from Cádiz on the cheap. He’s a year younger than Thierno Barry, offers much of what he did as a referential striker who can threaten in behind, and has netted in three of his five pre-season outings so far.
He’s got the blessing of Barry, too.
It’s too early to deduce whether Villarreal might have a better player on their hands — we can’t even be sure of Barry’s potential yet, nevermind Eyong’s — but we do have a pretty good feeling that they have a genuine first team player on their hands.
Along with some classic ‘right place, right time’ goals in pre-season, the 21-year-old’s overall game as a player leading the line has been promising. His back-to-goal game has looked particularly strong, owing to a formidable blend of strength and understanding of how to use his body up against defenders. Indeed, even against physical, senior centre backs, Eyong has looked like an uncomfortable cover who can contest for most things in his vicinity.
The Cameroonian doesn’t have the same build as the lankier Barry — he’s a shade under 6ft and much stockier — but he’s a very well-set forward who can already impact the game in physical terms. And with all the final third talent around him at Villarreal, there’s certainly a place for a striker who occupies defenders, can hold up play, and threaten with his movement.
If his scoring touch can follow him out of pre-season, the Yellow Submarine might well just have another lucrative asset on their hands.
🔵 Jon Gorrotxategi (22) — Real Sociedad, CM
Readers of La Pausa will know we’re big fans of Jon Gorrotxategi. As far back as December, we were already tipping him to play a key role in Real Sociedad’s succession plan for Martín Zubimendi (although he is a frustrating injury doubt for the opener, even if he has ultimately made his case).
We’ve already said a lot about him, so this ought to do the trick if you want to know more:
Real Sociedad's post-Zubimendi plan begins to spin
For a while, Martín Zubimendi was a pretty well-kept secret of Spanish football. His style leant itself to quiet acclaim, and his development from one season to the next was so considered, so gradual in its precision, as to feel rare in modern football.
🟡 Pau Navarro (20) — Villarreal, CB/RB
With a contract extension pencilled in until 2030, Villarreal clearly seem to think highly of Pau Navarro and have plans for his first team longevity. And with four starts to his name in the final month of last term, it’s logical to think that was his introduction with sights set on more to come in 2025-26.
An option to play at both centre back and right back, Navarro looks and plays like someone with much more experience than he has. He’s sturdily built and has no obvious look of a rookie, while he plays with a real sense of composure for his age. Indeed, any traces of rashness have been very hard to detect so far, with his appreciation for what’s happening around him already at a good level.
“He’s an extraordinary kid, [both] mentally in his level of intelligence and his fabulous concentration,” Marcelino said of him last season.
While he can play in both stock defensive positions, as well as contribute in a defensive midfield role if needed, Navarro is especially well suited to the role of ‘third centre back’ that we see all across European football at present — the player who starts at full back but tucks inside at some point during a team’s possession. It’s a role that Marcelino and Villarreal also use a lot, allowing their opposite full back on the left to play much higher.
Navarro has performed well on both sides of the ball from there. In possession, he’s looked like a dependable decision-maker with a good sense of how to build the game from the back. Without it, he’s rarely looked like a natural centre back being asked to defend as a full back, showing he can hold up well in that different style of defending.
It seems like the 20-year-old will have some strong competition for that particular role this season in the form of Santiago Mouriño, but depth and rotation will be a key theme of Villarreal’s season on their return to the Champions League. Expect Navarro to show his utility across the backline when inevitably called upon.
🔴 Joel Roca (20) — Girona, Winger
Even if they were always due for some sort of decline in 2024-25, Girona’s season was a real disappointment. Not only through the reality of their results and eventual finish, but for the fact they lost every bit of the attacking electricity that had defined them a season earlier, suddenly looking slow, predictable, and lacking in conviction.
One player who might be able to contribute to the collective effort in changing that is Joel Roca. The 20-year-old spent last season at the Mirandés loan factory, and like most who pass through, came out of the other side in better nick than he went in. Even if he wasn’t a starting XI fixture, Roca showed he was a player able to influence games and do it from a wing or second striker role.
He’s quick, dribbles with good control, and has the type of annoying low centre of gravity that full backs don’t like. Although it’d be a surprise to see him become a day one starter at Girona, his performances in pre-season and Míchel’s penchant for vertical attackers — especially after last season — should see him involved.
🔵 Davinchi (17) — Getafe, LB
When it comes to scouting Spain’s lower leagues, Getafe are one of the best around. Come opening day, they might well have three players lifted from below the second tier in their starting XI to face Celta Vigo, in the form of Christantus Uche, Coba da Costa, and the newest name, Davinchi (excellently named, at that).
While we expect the former two to do so, it’d be pretty remarkable to see Davinchi get the nod. He’d be the only 17-year-old this century to start a LaLiga match this century.
Except, there’s a pretty fair chance he might.
With Diego Rico forced to cover at centre back in pre-season, the left back spot opened up nicely for young Davinchi. That was a slice of luck, but his performances over a healthy amount of minutes had nothing to do with luck. The teenager looked competitive in his duels, sufficiently athletic despite the growth that awaits him, and under control with the ball at his feet.
Davinchi also showed a good understanding with his left-sided winger (usually Coba da Costa), making movements to help both him and Getafe further attacks on the sides — be it overlaps, underlaps or merely knowing when to stay out of the way and let his winger make the most of one-v-one situations.
Another aspect is that a Getafe team who scored just 34 times in 38 league games last term will need all the attacking productivity they can get this time round. If they can recruit a bit more help from full back — even if it’s through a teenage rookie — they’d be wise to give it legs.
⚫ Pablo López (19) — Valencia, Winger
With investment typically lacking at Mestalla, there is always space for players to emerge out of the academy and show their utility. Layer on the track record of talent coming out of there and it can be a perfect storm if you’re a youngster looking for an opportunity.
One candidate who could make the most of that reality is 19-year-old Pablo López, who can play either on the wing or as a mediapunta inside. He is just the type of player who coaches tend to look to as well; someone who can make things happen in attack in isolated moments and provide ‘instant offense’, to borrow a term from Basketball, with his electric ball-carrying ability.
The teenager lacks plenty of formation in how to be a talent who also fits in a team context and knows where to be without the ball, but he’s at the head of the list of talent waiting for those opportunities. With a contract in place until 2027 and Valencia already having turned down loan offers for him, expect some substitute cameos that get Mestalla off its feet in the interim.
🔵 Javi Rueda (23) — Celta Vigo, RB
In a squad already littered with players promoted out of the B team, we can expect even more on the way for Celta Vigo this season. They will be back in Europe in 2025-26 and that means more bodies required if they’re to remain competitive and sustain their calendar.
If they’re concerned about maintaining their intensity across the campaign, one player who can certainly contribute to that is Javi Rueda — a man who spent last term on loan at Albacete. The 23-year-old is an energetic option for the full back/wing back spot, and plays with a natural feistiness whether he’s defending or dragging wingers back to their own goal.
A potentially crucial part of the puzzle is that he’s distinct to Celta’s current stable of full backs and wing backs. Óscar Mingueza is an excellent creator with vision to impact the game in the final third and Sergio Carreira is a safe bet with his distribution and reliability of decision-making, although neither are especially noted for their physicality or defensive gifts. Rueda, meanwhile, offers them a more physical defender who can also attack at speed and provide more threat as a runner.
Although he can’t count on the technical quality of the former two, Rueda still does a solid job of covering the basics. He moves well without the ball and knows how to play off surrounding attackers, getting himself into advanced positions with chances to cross or cut back. Celta want to be vertical in the final third and Rueda can achieve that in a different way to his ‘defensive’ peers.
🟢 Álvaro Rodríguez (21) — Elche, CF
The former Real Madrid striker isn’t exactly a secret to LaLiga fans. Many will remember his towering header against Atlético Madrid at the Bernabéu in February 2023, back when there was some impetus behind him as a long-term prospect for the club.
That didn’t happen (no shame in that), while his loan move to Getafe last season didn’t go as well as anyone was hoping it might. The 21-year-old looked like a good fit for Bordalás’s direct style of football, but couldn’t hold down a starting spot for a variety of reasons; many of which we can’t know from afar.
However, we’re not giving up hope. The Uruguayan has special attributes for a centre forward — he’s lanky, mobile, and packs a freakish leap when attacking crosses. Even if we’ve not seen it in any meaningful way at senior level, it’s no surprise that Elche were still enticed by the opportunity to work with those tools.
Eder Sarabia’s side aren’t coming up to LaLiga just to scrap and hope they stay alive by any means, either. They want to control the game with the ball and condition their opponents into playing their game (within reason). In that sense, Elche need their new striker to be their Erling Haaland — not in scoring tons of goals and rag dolling defenders around, but in knowing that the penalty area is his domain and making the most of his presence there, even if it can be frustrating watching his team pass around him.
🔴 Peio Canales (20) — Athletic, CM
There’s still a chance that Peio Canales will end up leaving on loan for the season, and it wouldn’t be a heinous decision on Athletic’s part. With the number of Segunda clubs probably ringing them they might just do it to stop the sound of the phone. However, I do have a sneaky feeling that Ernesto Valverde might just have seen enough to wave it off and keep the youngster in-house.
The 20-year-old is an ultra-technical midfielder who’ll probably make his way into the first team setup playing as a no.10, but eventually work his way into a role as an interior who can contribute in the final third. His signature moves are quick feet to duck in and out of tight spaces and excellent ball-striking, whether it’s through distribution or shooting on goal. Indeed, the directness of his play with the ball will no doubt be to Ernesto Valverde’s liking, what with Athletic being a pretty no-frills attacking side.
I’ll leave it there for the time being, given the possibility of him heading out on loan. Even if that does happen, though, be sure to remember this guy’s name. He’ll be back.
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