Aitor Paredes

Key strength: Aerial dominance

Defensive anchor

Athletic Bilbao sit fifth in La Liga, but their LDLLW form tells a story of turbulence—four results swinging wildly between despair and fragile hope. Through this chaos stands Aitor Paredes, the 26-year-old Basque centre-back who has become Ernesto Valverde's immovable foundation. With 29 appearances and 2,412 minutes already banked this season, Paredes has been ever-present, donning the iconic number 4 shirt with the gravity it demands. His ledger reads modestly—one goal, one assist—but his true currency is defensive steel married to rare discipline. Just four yellow cards across a grueling campaign speaks to a defender who reads danger before it arrives, who uses positioning rather than punishment. Valued at €7.5 million and rated 55, Paredes embodies Athletic's sacred cantera tradition: locally developed, fiercely loyal, and technically sound. While Oihan Sancet dances forward to create headlines, Paredes holds the line, aerially dominant and tactically mature. In a season where consistency has deserted Bilbao, their Basque anchor remains the one certainty upon which European dreams still rest.