Know The Player 3-Markel Susaeta

Markel Susaeta ,   The Stylet.... 

"El Estilete" (The Stylet) as he's known and called by the fans of Athletic club , Markel Susaeta , was a youth product of Athletic Bilbao  has over these years established himself as one of the main fixtures in the starting XI. Seen as one the leaders in the team , Susaeta has contributed a lot and has stepped up from time to time when his team needed him. He's come leaps and bounds over these past years and has arguably been the most consistent player at the club.

 A real fan favourite at the San Mames , the 26 year old attacking midfielder  is a pacey customer and is a danger for any defence. He mainly operates on the right flank and is excellent at streching the opposition by making good runs. Calm and composed on the ball , he's a quick natrual dribbler who does like to cut in from the right flank and switch positions at times. 

Some of the major standout qualities he has is his ability to run at defenders and to cross. He's very intelligent in and around the penalty area , this is another unique quality possesed by the spainard. Being a set-piece specialist his freekicks and his crosses are second to none. He's scored some great freekicks over these years. A clinical finisher , he's also good at shooting from range and does take his chances when given time and space , be it on his favoured right foot or his left.  Susaeta is equally a provider and a goalscorer. Although he's always on the lookout for a killer pass , picking out a teammate via a cutback or laying off someone for a shot. His passes in the final third are very accurate aswell.  His pace , dribbling ability and his quality crosses are one of the main assets on which the team depends upon.

Unlike many players who are often criticized are for not playing thier defensive part , Susaeta does track back from time to time and is not afraid of making  a tackle or two. The 2011-12 campaign proved out o be his best season with 13 goals and 15 assists. So far this season , he has 5 goals and 7 assists to his name in all competitions. A consistent player indeed. In the summer of 2012 , Susaeta was linked to many clubs like Arsenal ,Manchester united and Chelsea as he was out of contract the following year. The feeling in spain was that he was going to leave for pastures new , but he signed a contract extension after a few months. It would've been brilliant to see a player of his quality in the premier league but it just wasn't in the script. Though , you never know what the future holds...

At 26 years of age , he's a gem of a player entering the peak of his powers. El Estilete is rightly considered as a quality Attacking Midfielder in spain. His perfomances justify that.