The 24-year-old centre-back from Portugalete is one of our own, another gem to have come through the Lezama academy.

A defender’s defender, Unai enjoys a physical challenge and loves going up against LaLiga’s biggest and toughest strikers. But he also has the brains to match his brawn, he has an impeccable sense of positioning and is always where his teammates need him to be in order to snuff out danger.

He made his first-team debut in 2017-18 under former coach Kuko Ziganda and the central defender made 33 appearances in LaLiga that season.

The competition for centre-backs births at Athletic Club is tough, the club is fortunate enough to have three top-class players in that position. But that competition forced Nuñez to raise his game and in 2020-21 he played in 31 official matches.

Nuñez has made a total of 107 appearances for the first team over the past five seasons and has scored three times.

His performances have also seen him gain international recognition. He was a member of the Spain Under-21 squad that won the European Championships in 2019 and he made his debut for the full side in September 2019, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 win against the Faroe Islands.