Como midfielder Jayden Osei Addai heads into the 2025-26 pre-season proper with his club moving in directions that have little to do with him. A 2-2 draw in a friendly against Paris FC, Da Cunha's renewal through 2031, and a club-wide ambition now calibrated to the Champions League — the lariani are building something larger than any individual, and a 20-year-old with 12 Serie A appearances to his name is not yet part of the blueprint.
The so-what is straightforward: Como's historic qualification for European football's premier competition does not expand Osei Addai's opportunities — it compresses them. Fà bregas's side finished fifth with 68 points across 37 matches, conceding only 28 goals in the process. That defensive solidity and tactical coherence reflect a squad already operating at a level where fringe contributors must earn minutes against increasingly credentialed competition.
The numbers around Osei Addai tell a story of promise deferred. Three goals in 12 appearances last season is a return that would satisfy most midfielders his age, and an average rating of 6.90 suggests he contributed without embarrassing himself when called upon. But an AI overall of 50 with a potential ceiling of 68 frames him precisely as what he is: a player whose best football is ahead of him, not yet here. The gap between those two figures is where his career currently lives.
Da Cunha's renewal — 129 appearances, now contracted until 2031 — reinforces the hierarchy. The captain's commitment signals that Como's core is settled and senior. Around that core, Fà bregas will need depth across a Champions League campaign, a domestic season, and whatever cup obligations follow. That is the argument for Osei Addai's continued presence in the squad. The argument against is that depth at this level tends to be purchased rather than developed in real time.
The club's decision to ban headers in its youth academy — with Raphaël Varane involved in explaining the initiative — is a marginal detail in isolation, but it speaks to an institution thinking carefully about player development and long-term welfare. Whether that philosophy extends to patience with a young midfielder still finding his footing in Serie A is a different question.
Osei Addai does not need a transfer or a crisis to find his moment. He needs a run of matches, which is precisely what Champions League rotation could provide. If FĂ bregas manages his squad across multiple competitions, the midfielder's 6.90 average rating becomes a baseline worth building on. If the club instead recruits further into his position, that baseline becomes a footnote.
The pre-season friendly result changes nothing about his situation. The renewal of Da Cunha changes the context around it. Osei Addai enters this summer as a player whose value to Como is real but conditional, and the conditions are being set by decisions made well above his pay grade.