The 5️⃣ most underrated players in Europe's top leagues | OneFootball

Some players just don’t get the universal credit they deserve across the wider footballing public.

But we’re aiming to put that right.

These are the most underrated stars in each of Europe’s top five leagues, with some honourable mentions thrown in for good measure.

Premier League: Nathan Redmond (Southampton)

Perhaps by virtue of the fact that he has yet to represent a truly top level club (no disrespect to Birmingham, Norwich or Southampton) but Redmond remains criminally underrated.

He is a joy on the ball, one of those wide men who will put you on the edge of your seat and have defenders living on the edge in dealing with him.

The 25-year-old has been capped just once for his country and it really should be a lot more because he is a game-changer.

Quick, direct and versatile, Redmond is a coach’s dream and scooping his side’s Player of the Year honours last season shows he is at least well regarded at St Mary’s.

Southampton would have been relegated before now without Redmond in their ranks and under Ralph Hasenhüttl, he looks primed to take his game to the next level.

That is a scary prospect given what he is already capable of.

Honourable mentions: Heung-min Son (Tottenham), Łukasz Fabiański (West Ham), Ashley Barnes (Burnley), Fabian Schär (Newcastle).

Ligue 1: Benjamin André (Lille)

This summer he opted to make a move out of his comfortable surroundings in Rennes in order to join Lille.

If he adapts as well at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy as he did at his old stomping ground, then his new fans are in for quite a treat.

It isn’t hard to see why André is so underrated though, one of those midfielders who does his work without craving the limelight.

He is the epitome of one of those players who you won’t notice how good he is until he is no longer in your midfield. Sorry, Rennes fans.

He has never left his homeland, which perhaps explains why he doesn’t really get the recognition he deserves from further afield but he has been a standout for some time.

If you want to catch out what he can do this season then you are in luck – Lille will be in the Champions League.

Honourable mentions: Kenny Lala (Strasbourg), Valentin Rongier (Nantes), Gaätan Laborde (Montpellier), Yunis Abdelhamid (Reims).

LaLiga: Dani Parejo (Valencia)

He has played for a big club in one of football’s biggest and best leagues for eight years.

Dani Parejo is also the captain of Valencia so you would think that would be enough to earn him a little more recognition.

It is slowly starting to come his way at the age of 30, having earned his first Spain caps within the last 18 months and it is none too soon.

Parejo has been one of the world’s best central midfielders for some time.

But it is a conversation he rarely features in, a shock given his impeccable passing, knack for a timely goal and unerring ability to control games effortlessly.

He was once regarded as the brightest talent in Real Madrid’s academy and has fulfilled that promise, albeit in an under-the-radar fashion.

That bizarre short-term loan spell at Queens Park Rangers seems like a long time ago now.

Honourable mentions: Hugo Mallo (Celta), Raúl García (Athletic Club), Joan Jordán (Sevilla), Willian José (Real Sociedad).

Bundesliga: Charles Aránguiz (Bayer Leverkusen)

The classy Chilean midfielder is the man who makes Leverkusen tick and much of their magic moves through his fleet feet.

He is your classic box-to-box midfield man, an art that is dying out of the game in the modern era.

It is easy to lump Aránguiz with a somewhat lazy comparison to his compatriot Arturo Vidal.

After all, they are both combative Chilean midfielders with precision passing and an eye for goal who also starred at the Bay Arena.

But he is so much more and you don’t get the fouls that the Barcelona man brings either.

Enjoy him while you can though. By all accounts, he wants to return to South America and will get his wish next summer.

Honourable mentions: Kevin Kampl (RB Leipzig), Kevin Vogt (Hoffenheim), Rune Jarstein (Hertha Berlin), Danny da Costa (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Serie A: José Callejón (Napoli)

Here is your most underrated player in the world of football: Napoli’s José María Callejón.

The man has been an ultra consistent performer for one of the continent’s most exciting teams for the better part of a decade.

Perhaps he suffers in the eyes of many for always being surrounded by star talents who hog more of the limelight.

While the like of such as Gonzalo Higuaín, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Marek Hamšík have widely been lauded, Callejón is often shunned of such treatment and frankly we aren’t putting up with it anymore.

In addition to his incredible attacking talents (79 goals and 69 assists in Italy) he is also a tireless defensive worker who works himself into the ground.

The €10m that the Partenopei paid for his services looks like an absolute bargain the more time goes on and transfer fees for vastly inferior players rise.

Honourable mentions: Armando Izzo (Torino), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Francesco Caputo (Brescia), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio).