Como midfielder Máximo Perrone is three matches into the 2026-27 Serie A season, and the 23-year-old Argentine has yet to register a goal or an assist — yet the lariani sit fourth in the table with seven points from three matches, conceding just three times. His contribution, as it has always been, is harder to read on a scoresheet than it is to feel in the structure of a match.
That gap between visible output and actual influence is the central question around Perrone at this stage of his career. An AI overall of 72 out of 100, with a potential of 78, places him firmly in the tier of players who can be relied upon without yet being irreplaceable — capable, in other words, of growing into a role rather than already owning it. His average rating of 6.73 across three Serie A appearances is functional rather than decisive, the mark of a midfielder doing the connective work that rarely earns headlines.
The broader context makes that work more demanding than it might appear. Como, under coach Cesc Fàbregas, have just completed a historic Champions League debut, defeating RB Leipzig 4-1 at home. The squad that produced that result — with Nico Paz, Martin Baturina, and Anastasios Douvikas in the starting eleven — is one of the more technically ambitious in Italy. Perrone must earn his place in that company every week, not by default but by demonstrating that his particular qualities — positional discipline, ball retention, the capacity to absorb pressure in tight spaces — are worth a starting berth over alternatives who can also produce in the final third.
Two wins and a draw in Serie A, seven goals scored, three conceded: Como are not a team in crisis, and Perrone is not a player under threat. But the arithmetic of a long season is unforgiving. A midfielder averaging 6.73 with no direct contributions to goals needs to show, over the next month, that the platform he provides is genuinely load-bearing — that the team's attacking fluency depends on what he does before the ball reaches Paz or Baturina.
At 23, Perrone has time and a coach in Fàbregas who has demonstrated a willingness to build patiently and trust process over panic. The potential ceiling in his profile suggests there is more to come. Whether Serie A — and a Champions League campaign running concurrently — arrives at the right moment to draw it out is the question his season will answer.