Lorenzo Colombo

Key strength: Link-up play

Target man

In the gloom of Genoa's five-game winless skid that has left them stranded in 11th place, Lorenzo Colombo burns like a solitary beacon. The 24-year-old Italian striker has quietly assembled a compelling case as Patrick Vieira's most reliable weapon: 9 goals and 3 assists from 29 appearances, a goal every 196 minutes that embarrasses even higher-rated teammates. Operating as a classic target man in the #29 shirt, Colombo's true artistry lies not just in his 65-rated finishing but in his sublime link-up play—transforming 1,766 minutes of toil into genuine attacking coherence for a disjointed side. With a €10 million valuation that increasingly looks like market daylight robbery, the former AC Milan youth product has outperformed expectations at every turn. While Genoa slide toward mid-table purgatory, Colombo continues to deliver. For Vieira, there is no mystery about his salvation—the answer wears number 29.