Spanish Debate: Top 10 Best Liga Signings 07/08

Now that the ten worst signings are out of the way (see yesterday's debate here), let's turn our attention to happier matters and see which players have excelled in their new surroundings. They could be big-name transfers who justified their reputation and expense, young guns who have wasted no time in settling in, freebies who have proven to their former side that letting them go may have been a mistake, or young loanees itching to make a good impression.

10) Simão Sabrosa

We've not yet seen the best of him, and he cost a pretty penny, but the Portuguese international has an undeniable touch of class about him that sees him a worthy member of the top ten.

Keeping Luis García out of the first eleven, the former Barcelona man has marked his return to Spanish football with a series of fine displays, even allowing for the fact that he's not always been in his exact preferred position. Following on from his time at Benfica, he's not entirely lost his eye for goal, netting 7 times in 22 starts in La Liga.

Along with Diego Forlán, then, the Portuguese ace is one of the big-money signings who has managed to show his worth at the rojiblancos this season, but his true value is in the fact that there is yet more to come. If Javier Aguirre can encourage him to up his game a notch, he will unquestionably be one of the Liga's top players. For now, he's not half bad.

9) Seydou Keita

Sevilla climbed to success last season off the back of two hard-hitters in central midfield and numerous options ready to come off the bench in order to attack. But what would be better than to be able to combine such qualities in the form of one player?

Enter Seydou Keita, an imposing Malian signed from Racing Club Lens of Ligue 1. In what has been a difficult season for Sevilla overall, he has been one of the more consistent performers, offering both a dominant midfield presence and the willingness to stride forward and support the attack.

Having coaxed the captain away from Lens, he has three more years to go on his Sevilla deal after this one, and considering that he's just 28, the lion-hearted influence may in fact be in Nervión for the long haul.

8) Mata

Valencia's dire season will be one quickly glossed over by any triumphalist histories of Los Che, but one name who'll definitely enter the annals is Juan Manuel Mata.

The 19-year-old forward moved from Real Madrid Juvenil A to Real Madrid Castilla at the start of last season, and his first campaign in proper league football saw him excel in an attacking role. However, his prospects of making the final, biggest jump to Real Madrid proper seemed slim, so when Valencia came calling, he was off like a shot.

And while Real Madrid look on with glum realism at their limited striking options after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raúl, Mata has wasted no time in settling in at the Mestalla. Already a Spanish U-21 international, he's hit three goals in twelve starts, providing some assists as well. He's likely only to get better, and considering that he no doubt cost very little to sign and wage, his signing seems to have been a rare masterstroke from the bungling paymasters at Valencia.

7) Carlos Martins

Recreativo de Huelva operate with one of the lowest - perhaps even the lowest - budgets in the Liga, so when they shell out for players, they need to get it right. In Carlos Martins, they most certainly did.

A popular figure among the fans at former club Sporting Clube, continued injury problems and fallings-out with the coach eventually saw him head southeast for Huelva, where he wasted no time at all in battling his way into the supporters' good books. He's also a mainstay of the first eleven, having started 28 Liga games so far - more than anyone else except for the goalkeeper Sorrentino, forward Camuñas, and fellow successful signing Martin Cáceres. A tenacious midfielder, he fills something resembling a box-to-box one, one augmented by some fiendishly good ability from set-pieces.

Sporting still own 40% of his rights, but Recre fans will hope that he's in Andalucia for the duration.

6) Pepe

That's right: Pepe. Yes, yes: he cost the earth, he had a laughably bad start, and he's been injured a lot. But in a season in which Fabio Cannavaro has all too often fallen short, he has overcome both his difficult beginnings and shaken off the monkey-on-his-back that was his ludicrous price tag to become an integral part of the Real Madrid line-up.

The 25-year-old cost an absurd €30m when he was signed from Porto in summer, but while other players may have treated such a price tag as an ever-present albatross, Pepe seems scarcely affected by it. Barring injury and his slow start, he has been largely consistent, and seems to be a long-term replacement for Fabio Cannavaro. Who would have thought that Madrid's most expensive, least lauded and most questioned summer signing might just have turned out to be the best?

5) Andrés Guardado

Deportivo La Coruña are not a club recently famed for austerity, but massive debts have seen the recent title-winners revert to their status of small-town club, with small transfers to match. Nonetheless, they did manage to claw €7m from down the back of the sofa to buy Andrés Guardado from Mexican side Atlas in summer, and they'll be infinitely glad that they did.

The 21-year-old had enjoyed just two seasons of first team football before arriving at the Riazor, but he settled into a left-wing Liga role as if it was a comfortable pair of slippers. Despite currently being injured, he remains the club's second-top scorer in the Liga this season with five strikes, and although Depor's best form this season has coincided with his spell on the sidelines, he showed enough of a spark earlier in the season to be considered a vital member of the squad already.

4) Giuseppe Rossi

Another youngster, this one came from the glittering surroundings of Old Trafford before finding himself at the Madrigal.

It's not too many 21-year-olds who have played in the Premiership, Serie A and La Liga, but that's precisely what New Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi has done. Granted his prospects in the English league were dim, but he managed almost a 1:2 goal:game ratio with Parma before being snapped up by the Yellow Submarine at the start of the current campaign.

The Italian U-21 international has since hit 11 goals in 17 starts, with his pace and link-up play providing much joy for Villarreal in the absence of departed Diego Forlán. Manchester United retain a buy-back clause for the player, who cost the Madrigal side around €10m, but Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping that they don't exercise it.

3) Rubén de la Red/Esteban Granero

Two players, one success story. De la Red south across the city to Getafe on a "permanent" deal - albeit one augmented with a re-buy option, while Granero joined up with new boss Michael Laudrup on a loan deal. Both have excelled as Getafe go from strength to strength both in Europe and in the Copa del Rey, joining Cata Diaz as being tremendous summer signings for the Azulones.

There is talk of one, possibly both of them returning to the Bernabéu for the new campaign, with de la Red said to be in with a significant chance of establishing himself as a first-team player in the white shirt. He would be delighted to do so, but whether or not Madrid exercise their buy-back option is, for now, anyone's guess. Should he find himself called up for Spain's Euro 2008 squad, that would help his prospects significantly. Granero, meanwhile, could be loaned out to Geta again, and Azulones everywhere will hope that this is the case.

2) Daniel Güiza

Mallorca's sole entry on the list takes the number two spot. Daniel González Güiza is back in Mallorca, and this time he's making a success of it.

Indeed, it's strange that he was allowed to leave the club at all. First arriving from hometown club Xerez in 1999, he played a mere handful of games at the top level, enjoying first team action on loan at Dos Hermanas instead, before being punted to Recreativo. An unhappy spell in Huelva followed before he ended up with young upstarts Ciudad de Murcia, with whom he truly hit form.

Afterwards he was landed by Getafe, but it was only after two fine seasons there that Mallorca truly realised what they'd missed out on. With the player - tempted by an increased pay cheque, as well as Mallorca's status as a "bigger" club than Getafe - eager to return, the club managed to sign him for a relatively modest fee said to be no greater than €6m.

What a bargain that has turned out to be. Dani is fast establishing himself as one of the most natural goalscorers in Spain - his Liga tally of 17 goals is second only to that of Luis Fabiano, and unlike the Brazilian, he's not a penalty taker.

How long they can keep him is open to question, given that he's set to join up with Spain for Euro 2008, but he seems happy enough in Mallorca - for now.

1) Touré Yaya

Barcelona's best signing of the summer, and one of the top defensive midfielders on the continent today, Ivorian ace Touré Yaya gains the number two spot after a fine start to his blaugrana career. His €10m fee, in fact, is beginning to look like a massive bargain.

Despite having to marshall the defensive midfield virtually all by himself, Touré has shown some excellent damage-limitation skills since arriving from AS Monaco in summer, outshining some of the more gritty opposition sides with relative ease. Further, and unlike some of his contemporaries as Camp Nou, he offers a range of passing in addition to his defensive duties.

At the age of just 24, the blaugrana hierarchy will hope that there is yet more to come from Yaya, and that he can cement as his own a spot that the likes of Marquez and Edmilson have juggled over the past tumultuous year.

Well done to Touré Yaya, and congratulations to Barcelona. Their summer signings haven't all paid off, but in the case of the Ivorian, they have an asset to be proud of.