Yeremay finally gets his stage
La Liga returns this weekend with three clubs who have spent years away from it. Deportivo A Coruna, Racing Santander and Malaga all climbed back this summer, and each arrives with a player the Segunda could no longer hold.
Yeremay Hernandez is the obvious one. The 23-year-old winger has been Deportivo’s engine since they came up from the third tier in 2024, and over those two Segunda seasons he ranks fourth in the division for goal involvements with 41. Every player above him logged at least 500 more minutes.
What separates him is the way he gets there. His 6.7 dribble attempts per 90 across those two seasons is the highest of any player with 1,500 minutes or more, and no one in the division produced more goal involvements immediately after carrying the ball, with 17. Top clubs across Europe have been circling. Had Depor stayed down, he would almost certainly have gone.
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Puerta’s fourteen-year wait at Racing
Racing Santander are back in the top flight after 14 years, and Gustavo Puerta did as much as anyone to get them there. The Colombia midfielder was supposed to sign permanently for Hull City last summer, only for the English club’s transfer ban to kill the deal. He landed at El Sardinero on 1 September instead.
Among Segunda midfielders with 900 minutes or more, Puerta ranked eighth for pass completion in the opposition half at 87.3% and sixth for possession recoveries per 90 at 6.4. His carrying numbers stand out further still. He averaged 4.1 progressive carries of 10 metres or more per 90, second in that group, and 8.6 progressive carries of five metres or more, third. He then went to the World Cup with Colombia and did not look out of place.
Chupe and the Malaga rebuild
Malaga have gone from the third division to La Liga in a little over two years by leaning on their academy, and Chupe is what that policy looks like. The 21-year-old striker scored 25 goals and set up six more in 45 league games last season, play-offs included. His 24 regular-season goals were bettered only by Almeria’s Sergio Arribas, who managed 25.
There is a caveat worth flagging. Chupe took 19 non-penalty goals from 13.1 expected goals, an overperformance that rarely holds. Then again, only three players in the division scored more often from outside the box, and Malaga’s survival may hinge on whether that finishing travels.
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