The 2025-26 La Liga campaign is still some seven weeks away, and while some players have been taking a well-earned break, others are in competition. But as we all know, the new domestic season will be here before they know it.
Let’s face it, we’re already a third of the way through the summer break, and champions Barcelona haven’t stopped celebrating yet, though head coach Hansi Flick is already preparing for next season, with the Blaugrana recruitment still working hard on a deal to bring Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams to Catalonia.
The two Madrid giants are out at the Club World Cup, though. While Los Blancos topped their group, Atleti are on their way home already after finishing third in their group. While Los Rojiblancos won two of their games, they took a 4-0 shellacking at the hands of PSG, and so they went out of the competition on goal difference.
While managers across the country will be asking their boards to dig deep to help them strengthen their squads, there are some young players who will be desperate for more game time than they have had so far. So let’s take a look at our SBOTOP pick of four young stars who will be keen to reduce their bench time and get out on the grass.
Pablo Torre, Barcelona
After breaking into the first team in 2022, coming on as a substitute in a Champions League match and again in a La Liga match a month later against Athletic Bilbao, Torre was loaned out to Girona for the 2023-24 campaign, where he made 26 appearances.
He returned to Barcelona last season and, in a team packed with creative talent, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder made an impact under Flick, scoring in a 5-1 win over Villarreal in September and then bagging a brace when Barca beat Sevilla by the same margin a month later.
He also scored a goal and made two assists in a Copa del Rey match against Barbastro in January, and Torre ended with four goals and three assists in just 348 minutes of playing time. He’ll hope for more game time in 2025-26, and he has shown just what he can do when given the chance.
Endrick, Real Madrid
There is a slightly different story for 18-year-old Brazilian starlet Endrick, who arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu with something of a fanfare last year, only to struggle to make an impact as Los Blancos suffered a disappointing campaign. With just one goal in 22 games, most of them from the bench, Endrick found it impossible to dislodge the front three of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Vinicius Jr.
With no real thoughts of any of those three leaving, though Premier League giants Arsenal have been linked with Rodrygo, it may well be that Endrick will need to go out on a loan to get more game time, unless he can make an impression on new manager Xabi Alonso pretty quickly.
The La Liga 2025 betting odds predict another El Clasico tussle, and the Los Blancos boss will be determined to get his squad 100 percent ready and capable when August comes.
Alvaro Djalo, Athletic Club
Another player hoping to make more La Liga 2025 highlights this time around is Bilbao’s 25-year-old winger Alvaro Djalo, signed from Portuguese side Braga in a €15 million deal last summer.
It was a big layout for the Basque club for a player who met the club’s signing requirements, having spent time as a juvenile in the region. With one cap for the Basque Country, he has been accepted by the locals, but he was lightly used last season, making just 17 appearances and scoring one goal.
With Nico Williams quite possibly on his way out of the club and his brother Inaki now 31, it may well be that Djalo will get more of a chance this season.
Orri Oskarsson, Real Sociedad
Down the road in San Sebastian, 20-year-old forward Orri Oskarsson is hoping for a big campaign to help Real Sociedad recover from a poor season in 2024-25 when they finished 11th after years of competing in Europe.
With three goals in 23 games, Oskarsson got a fair amount of game time, but there is much more to come from the Icelandic striker, who has scored seven goals in 16 international caps.
He learned his trade in Copenhagen until the Danish club pulled in a record fee of €20 million when he switched to Sociedad, and now, under the tutelage of the excellent captain Mikel Oyarzabal, Oskarsson has great potential to kick on.
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