Óscar Mingueza

Mingueza plays out from defence the way his academy background would suggest, choosing a short pass through pressure over simply clearing his lines whenever the option exists. He slots into right back or centre back without his passing habits changing at all, useful to more than one system over his career. His calmness under pressure near his own goal comes from years of being trusted with the ball in tight areas.

The question with a converted full back playing centre half is whether the physical side of defending centrally ever becomes completely natural. Mingueza's game has always leaned toward composure and passing over raw physical dominance, which can be tested by a striker built purely to bully a defender in the air. Watch how he copes against that kind of direct opponent, because it is the clearest gap between his technical game and the demands of the position.