Top five youngest squads in LaLiga

The Spanish league has some very decent young players to showcase.

LaLiga is always talked about for having blistering attacking football and brilliant possession-based gameplay. Players from the various academies have imbibed these values from a young age, hence several clubs can be seen employing very young players in their starting lineup often.

Many clubs in the 2020-21 campaign have fielded young squads to develop their sides for the future and also to deal with the financial constraints due to the pandemic, preventing them from signing more players.

Therefore, a lot of clubs are trusting their young players and relatively young squads for achieving success in the upcoming season. Based on the data accumulated by CIES Football Observatory, here are the five youngest squads based on average age in the Spanish La Liga.

5. Atletico Madrid - 27.5 years

Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone have been consistently impressive for the past few years. Moreover, they have been decent while introducing some very talented young players in the process. 

The club that has won 10 league titles and 10 Copa del Rey trophies have one of the youngest squads at 27.5 years this term. Some of their most notable young players are, Renan Lodi (22), João Félix (21) and Marcos Llorente (25).

4. Athletic Club - 27.5 years

Since 1912, Athletic Club (a.k.a Athletic Bilbao) has followed a unique transfer policy under which they will only employ players that are born in the Basque country, have Basque ancestry or have been trained at a Basque club. This eventually means they have to include several young academy players into their setup.

Their squad, with an average age of 27.5 years, is at par with Atletico Madrid’s young team. Among the many exciting young players that Athletic Club have, some notable mentions are Unai Simón (23), Unai Núñez (23) and Iñaki Williams (26). 

3. Celta Vigo - 26.7 years

Next up on the list is Celta Vigo, with an average age of 26.7 years fielded this term. The club has been in the top-flight for the past nine years but are in a troublesome situation as they sit rock-bottom at 20th place after 10 games. 

The task to avoid relegation will be really tough for them this season. The onus will be on their young squad to uplift the performances sooner rather than later. Some of the better young players in their team include the likes of Fran Beltrán (21), Santi Mina (24) and Denis Suarez (26).

2. Real Sociedad - 25.3 years

Second youngest squad in the LaLiga has been fielded by Real Sociedad. At 25.3 years, theirs is one of the youngest squads in Europe. The two-time LaLiga winners have started their current campaign very impressively, after accumulating 23 points in their first 10 fixtures.

Their highly impressive start shall be credited to their young squad which has some exceptional talents, namely Igor Zubeldia (23), Mikel Merino (24), Mikel Oyarzabal (23) and Alexander Isak (21). 

1. Valencia CF - 25.2 years

Valencia CF has fielded the youngest squad based on average age in the current season of LaLIga. The six-time league winners are going through a financial crisis at the moment and have had to employ several young players and let go of their experienced figures due to the aforementioned financial constraints.

The club’s fortunes are in the hands of their young brigade. Some of the notable names in that roster include José Gayà (25), Carlos Soler (23), and Maxi Gómez (24).

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