4. Real Betis LW Juanmi
Juanmi has cooled off a bit since he had a stretch of matches in November and December in which he scored in five straight matches, including a winner against Barcelona and a hat-trick in the previous match against Levante.
It is wild to think that a player who is well-known to diehard LaLiga fans and is a respected 28-year-old can be considered one of the most-improved players in the league in 2021-22. Yet that is exactly the distinction Juanmi has earned, as he has already set a career-high with 12 goals.
Juanmi’s previous best season was in 2016-17 when he scored 11 goals for Real Sociedad. It seemed like he would settle as a career journeyman in LaLiga, having scored just three goals in his first two seasons since moving to Betis from La Real as a backup player.
But the man has been a star at times for Los Verdiblancos, shining on one of the most exciting teams in Europe with Manuel Pellegrini at the helm.
In addition to his 12 goals in LaLiga, Juanmi has added two goals in the Europa League.
Look, Juanmi probably isn’t going to keep this up, but it has been a joy to watch his finishing and technical class this season. He has been composed and confident, and that hot streak was absolutely delightful to see. Yes, he has already crashed back down to earth, but he did have two massive games last month against Alaves and Celta Vigo.