Como's sporting director has spoken publicly about the club's preparations for a season that will include European football, and for Como midfielder Jayden Osei Addai, 20, the implications are immediate and personal.

The lariani finished 2025-26 in fifth place with 68 points from 37 Serie A matches — a W19 D11 L7 record that earned them a place in European competition for the first time in the club's modern era. Fàbregas's Como are no longer a curiosity. They are a project with a continental stage, and the squad is being built accordingly. A move for Breel Embolo, the Swiss forward currently at Rennes, has been explored, with Milan and Napoli also credited with interest. Yan Couto has already arrived. The ambition is structural, not cosmetic.

For Osei Addai, that ambition cuts two ways. He contributed three goals across 12 Serie A appearances last season, carrying an average rating of 6.90 — numbers that mark him as a contributor rather than a peripheral figure, but not yet as an undisputed starter. His AI overall score of 50 out of 100 suggests a player with potential rated at 68, indicating a player whose ceiling remains meaningfully above his current output. The gap between those two numbers is where his 2026-27 season will be decided.

A squad expanding to absorb European fixtures and higher-profile signings creates opportunity as much as competition. Rotation across a longer campaign can give minutes to players who might otherwise be squeezed out in a tighter schedule. Osei Addai's profile — young, already integrated into Fàbregas's system, with goals on his record — positions him to benefit from that dynamic, provided he can sharpen the consistency that his rating and appearance count suggest is still developing.

The sporting director's optimism about the coming season is a backdrop, not a guarantee. Osei Addai's answer to it will come on the pitch.