The very young player from Barcelona has settled into the first team discipline.
Ilias Akhomach joined Villarreal in the summer transfer window of 2023. At just 19 years old, Ilias left FC Barcelona to join the Yellow Submarine, where he was initially expected to play for the reserve team with the potential to get minutes with the first team. His speed, audacity, and great dribbling ability made him a rough diamond that the reserve team coaches were tasked with polishing.
It seemed unlikely that Akhomach could compete for a spot with Yeremy Pino, who had come off a great season, but everything changed after the training session on November 15th.
Villarreal CF announced Yeremy's unfortunate injury during a training session: a torn ACL in his left knee. The Canary Islands native thus began a long recovery and left a vacant spot on the right wing of the Yellow Submarine's attack. Chosen by Quique Setién (the Yellow's coach at the time) was Ilias Akhomach, who didn't waste the opportunity and had a tremendous season.
Ilias played in 31 out of 38 league matches, totaling 1512 minutes, during which he scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists. The Moroccan showcased high-quality dribbling skills and moments of brilliance, displaying a confidence and audacity uncommon for such a young player with little experience in La Liga. Other standout stats this season include completing 49% of his dribbles and winning 46% of his duels.
Thanks to his outstanding season, the online portal Transfermarkt has increased his market value fivefold, from 3 to 15 million euros. As if that weren't enough, Ilias has been nominated for the 2024 Golden Boy award, putting a perfect cap on a debut year that neither Yellow Submarine fans nor Ilias himself likely expected. Where will his ceiling be?
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