Aitor Paredes Casamichana (born 29 April 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.
[1][2] Definitely promoted to the B-side in June 2020, he subsequently became a regular starter for the team, playing in 18 matches (play-offs included) of the 2020–21 campaign, scoring once in a 3–0 home success over Barakaldo CF on 3 January 2021.
[4] He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 29 August 2022, coming on as a late substitute for Iñigo Lekue in a 4–0 away routing of Cádiz CF.
[5] A short time prior to his debut he was the sixth-choice central defender in the squad, behind Iñigo Martínez, Yeray Álvarez, Daniel Vivian, Unai Núñez and Peru Nolaskoain; however, the latter pair departed on loan, and injuries to the others gave Paredes some opportunities (nine starts and seven further appearances from the bench) during 2022–23.
From the start of the next season, with Martínez having joined FC Barcelona and Yeray still absent with physical issues, the relatively inexperienced Vivian and Paredes (aged 24 and 23 respectively) formed an effective defensive partnership as the team challenged at the top end of the table,[6][7] and won the Copa del Rey to end the club's 40-year unsuccessful sequence in the competition.