Santiago Gimenez

Key strength: Link-up play

Target man

Perched atop Serie A after a WWLDW run that keeps Scudetto ambitions burning, AC Milan's title charge is powered by a constellation of attacking stars. Yet look beyond the headline grabbers—beyond the €80 million Christopher Nkunku and the electric Rafael Leão—and you'll find Santiago Giménez, the €20 million Mexican striker rewriting what it means to be a modern No. 9. The numbers appear modest: one goal and two assists from 11 appearances, with just 768 minutes largely as a squad rotation option. But Giménez operates as football's most selfless archetype—the target man with the soul of a playmaker. Dropping between defensive lines, the 24-year-old unlocks defenses with vision and passing that defy traditional striker conventions, creating space for his more celebrated teammates to feast. That solitary red card hints at the passion beneath his finesse. In a Milan attack built on fluid interchange, Giménez represents the tactical wildcard: less poacher, more architect. His two assists tell the deeper story of a player sacrificing personal glory for collective triumph as the Rossoneri chase domestic supremacy.