Last season brought many surprises on the market and many players have become protagonists beyond expectations.
From big names to unexpected players, here are the top 5 of those who had a season at the top level last year.
Luis Diaz
A Liverpool masterpiece, without question.
The board together with Jurgen Klopp decided to anticipate the competition from other clubs interested in Luis Diaz last January with a blitz during the negotiations with Tottenham and West Ham.
Liverpool found an agreement with Luis and his agent thanks to the possibility of playing the Champions League immediately, then they improved the proposal at Porto and secured one of the best wingers in the world.
His impact on him was incredible from the first match to the last, despite the fact that he did not speak English and communication was not easy, in addition to adapting to a new football, a new city and a total change for his family.
Luis Diaz was not intimidated, he won two cups with Liverpool and is already sure to be a key part of the project for the coming years with the Reds.
David Alaba
His first season with Real Madrid was simply excellent.
A guarantee in defense for Carlo Ancelotti, it wasn't easy to replace Sergio Ramos and Varane but he became a leader despite a new country, a new league and a new life in Madrid.
Alaba was a 10-rated free agent signing on the report card for Real Madrid, recalling that he won the Champions League and La Liga with Real who beat competition from two English clubs to get Alaba's signature.
A super signing that has worked since the first year.
Three-time winner David Alaba turns 3⃣0⃣ today! 🎂🎁#UCL pic.twitter.com/vOufw2foSZ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 24, 2022
Mike Maignan
Greatly underrated abroad, but if AC Milan are back as Italian champions it is also thanks to this French goalkeeper who made an incredible impact in his first year in Serie A.
Paolo Maldini believed in Maignan to replace a super goalkeeper like Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mike has done incredible things as a true leader of the new AC Milan.
One of the smartest signings in all of Europe as the price was around €15m yet Maignan was immediately decisive for AC Milan, a winner who can now become very important for the French national team as well.
Bruno Guimaraes
Newcastle have big plans for the present and the future today, but if they will remain in the Premier League it is also thanks to the excellent performance of Bruno Guimaraes since he signed for the Magpies in January.
An incredible signing because there were risks related to his first experience in the Premier League coming from Ligue1, but Bruno Guimaraes gave exceptional responses.
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The Brazilian produced great performances, showed total leadership in the Newcastle locker room and the results for Eddie Howe's team turned to a high level also thanks to the impact of Bruno.
Those €45m spent by Newcastle in January to buy him from OL turned out to be a great intuition, also because Juventus and Arsenal had been active for months in view of June but Newcastle anticipated everyone.
Do you like my new magic hat ? 😂🤠 pic.twitter.com/5kheTCn2wW
— Bruno Guimarães (@brunoog97) June 29, 2022
Cristian Romero
When Tottenham decided to invest £40m on Cristian Romero, not everyone was convinced that he was a smart buy.
But the director Fabio Paratici had no doubts after having already bought Romero at the time of Juventus: this boy is a force of nature, if Tottenham is in the Champions League they also owe it to the top level performances of Romero who from Copa America onwards has proved its worth internationally.
Tottenham are as enthusiastic about Romero as Dejan Kulusevski, both players are part of the project for the present and the future of the club: they will be bought on a permanent deal from Atalanta and Juventus over the next few months.
Certainly, Romero is the defensive leader that Antonio Conte will also use in the next season for his Tottenham.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
