Iván Romero

Key strength: Link-up play

Target man

At the very bottom of Spain's Segunda División, Levante UD's season hangs by a thread—five matches without a win, four defeats and a solitary draw offering meagre respite. Yet rising from this wreckage is Iván Romero, a 25-year-old beacon of hope whose €8 million market value dwarfs everything else on this sinking ship. The Seville-born striker has battled through 23 appearances and 1,519 gruelling minutes to deliver 4 goals and 2 assists—modest numbers that shimmer like gold in a side starved of chances. Operating as a classic target man with 64-rated finishing, Romero's true artistry lies in his link-up play: he holds possession under suffocating pressure, knits together fragmented attacks, and serves as both shield and sword for a beleaguered attack. With creative midfielder Xavi Simons offering secondary threat, Romero remains the marked man—opponents know silence him, and they silence Levante entirely. As the January window approaches, his valuation makes him both the club's greatest asset and their most vulnerable. Lose Romero, and Levante's survival hopes likely perish with him. Every touch he takes carries the weight of a Valencia institution's destiny.