Como midfielder Jayden Osei Addai enters the final stretch of the 2026 preseason window as a player whose immediate future will be shaped less by his own actions than by the decisions accumulating around him — and those decisions are arriving fast. The lariani have confirmed a left-back signing from Cruzeiro, lodged a formal offer for a central defender, and are navigating the fallout of Real Madrid exercising their buyback option on Nico Paz, all within the space of days.

The Paz departure is the structural fact that reorders everything. The Argentine was the creative axis of Fàbregas's Como, and his exit to Madrid opens a vacancy that the club is already working to fill — with Vergara and Liberali identified as potential alternatives. For Osei Addai, that vacancy is both a threat and an opportunity. A high-profile replacement arrives with guaranteed minutes and attention; no replacement at all, or a delayed one, creates space in the midfield ecosystem for younger players to absorb more responsibility.

The 20-year-old's case for that responsibility is modest but real. Across 12 Serie A appearances in 2025-26, Osei Addai contributed three goals without registering an assist, carrying an average match rating of 6.90. Those numbers describe a player who contributes in bursts rather than sustaining influence across ninety minutes — useful, but not yet indispensable. His AI overall score of 50 out of a potential 68 suggests the ceiling is meaningfully higher than the current floor, which is precisely the kind of profile Fàbregas has shown willingness to develop at a club that finished fifth with 68 points from 37 matches, conceding only 28 goals all season.

Como's defensive solidity — that 28-goal figure across the campaign — reflects a team built on structural discipline, and Fàbregas's midfield selections have consistently prioritised players who protect the shape as much as they advance it. Osei Addai's goal return without assists hints at a player who arrives in dangerous areas but has not yet become a consistent link in the build-up chain. That is the specific gap he needs to close.

The summer's transfer activity complicates his path without closing it. A new left-back changes the supply lines on that flank. A central defender reinforces the defensive platform he plays in front of. A Paz replacement, if it arrives, will command the creative role Osei Addai might otherwise grow into. Each signing narrows the available space — but Como's European push, the ambition implicit in a fifth-place finish, also means the squad will need depth across a longer, more demanding season.

Osei Addai's preseason, then, is less about headlines and more about the kind of sustained performance that earns a coach's trust before the competitive calendar begins. The data says the potential is there. The summer says the competition is coming.