ISMAëL KONé’S BREAKOUT SERIE A FORM SPARKS MAJOR INTEREST AHEAD OF SUMMER WINDOW
Fabio Grosso has secured Sassuolo’s survival, powered by breakout star Ismaël Koné. We look at the Canadian's stellar debut season.
Jonathan David grabbed plenty of headlines during his first year in Serie A, but he’s not the only Canadian making waves in Italy. Sassuolo’s Ismaël Koné has started turning heads, too.
Koné scored six goals in 30 Serie A matches this season, and he’s quickly become one of the league’s most exciting midfielders. At just 23, he joined Sassuolo from Marseille last summer, so this was his first taste of Italian football.
Sassuolo’s season started rocky; one week, they looked dazzling, the next, they seemed lost. You never really knew which version of the team would show up, almost like throwing down bets with no script. But as the months went on, they steadied themselves under coach Fabio Grosso, who you might remember from the 2006 World Cup. The team eventually found their feet and wrapped up their Serie A safety weeks before the end.
One of Sassuolo’s bright spots came on March 1, 2026, when they edged out Atalanta 2-1 at home. Koné opened the scoring in minute 23, and Grosso couldn’t hide his pride afterwards, telling DAZN: “That was a wild match. The guys just wrote their names into this club’s history. We’d been searching for something sweet to cap off our season; this was it, plus a huge cherry on top. Atalanta have been dangerous, fresh off their run in the Champions League, but our defenders kept their focus for the full 90 minutes. That’s not easy to do.”
He added, “We needed those points, and it felt even better to get them with a performance like that.”
Back in Turin, Juventus striker Jonathan David has found things a bit more complicated. Expectations have been sky-high since the ex-Lille forward arrived on a free transfer, and every game has been dissected good and bad. Koné, by contrast, isn’t under the same glare, and that’s maybe helped him settle in quicker.
Even after David scored against Bologna, the Italian pundits couldn’t make up their minds. Massimo Ambrosini said, “Honestly, David was more involved in other matches. But his teammates appreciate him, and they stick up for him. Spalletti wants a striker with versatility. David’s gotten a bit better, but I don’t see that ruthless edge in the box just yet. He always used to have it, but we haven’t seen it here.”
For Koné, this Serie A debut has been a breakthrough. He’s shown off his stamina, poise, and talent, not just his goals. Keep an eye on him at the 2026 World Cup, and expect plenty of transfer rumours swirling around the former Marseille man all summer long.
FABREGAS’S COMO DRAWS LEVEL WITH ROMA, PUTTING MASSIVE PRESSURE ON TOP-FOUR RIVALS
Como beat Genoa 2-0 to climb into fifth place. Cesc Fabregas’s side is now tied on points with Roma in the Champions League battle.
Tasos Douvikas and Assane Diao both found the net as Como picked up a 2-0 win over Genoa on Sunday afternoon in Serie A. The result pulls Cesc Fabregas’s side level on points with Roma and puts them just two back from Juventus in the Champions League race, with only four games left in the season.
Genoa arrived after winning back-to-back league games, each by a 2-1 scoreline, but Como’s form had taken a nosedive in April. They hadn’t tasted victory in over a month, and frustration was starting to show. For this one, Daniele De Rossi shuffled Genoa’s starting eleven with four changes. Fabregas, coming off Como’s Coppa Italia semi-final loss to Inter, made two changes of his own.
Como didn’t waste time. Inside ten minutes, Lucas Da Cunha sent in a lovely cross from the left half-space. Douvikas met it with a classic striker’s header, burying his 12th Serie A goal of the year and his 15th in all competitions.
Later, with about 22 minutes gone, Nico Paz danced past his man and curled one just wide from the edge of the box. On the other end, Como goalkeeper Jean Butez nearly gifted Genoa a goal when he cleared the ball straight into Vitinha. The Genoa striker slipped with the goal wide open, though, and Butez gratefully collected the ball.
The match turned a bit nasty before halftime with a clash of heads between Paz and Alessandro Marcandalli after a Como corner. Both players stayed on at first, but Paz didn’t return for the second half after complaining he couldn’t see properly. Genoa’s keeper, Justin Bijlow, also got hurt and had to be swapped out for Nicola Leali at the break.
Genoa came out strong in the second half, but Como struck again about two-thirds through. Maxence Caqueret stuck out a foot at a cross from Martin Baturina, accidentally setting up Diao for a header at the back post. Two shots on target, two goals. Como were ruthless.
Alvaro Morata, coming off the bench for Como, had a golden chance to score his first Serie A goal of the season after a Caqueret cut-back. Instead, he shot straight at Leali, who kept it out.
So, at full time, Como sits even with Roma on points but holds fifth place ahead of them. And now, they’re just two behind Juventus with a huge showdown against Milan looming for the Old Lady. The Champions League spots suddenly look very much within Como’s reach.
REAL MADRID CONFIRMS INTENT TO TRIGGER €9M BUY-BACK CLAUSE FOR NICO PAZ
Real Madrid will trigger the €9M buy-back clause for Nico Paz this summer. Discover why the Argentine playmaker is returning home.
Nico Paz will return to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, according to a report that highlights his current market value. The young player has also hinted at his plans.
Paz came up through the Real Madrid youth academy and made it to the first team of the Spanish and European powerhouse.
The 21-year-old midfielder scored one goal in eight appearances for Madrid’s first team before transferring to Como in the summer of 2024.
Paz’s contract with Como runs until the summer of 2028, but all signs indicate he will head back to Madrid for next season and beyond.
In November 2025, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano shared on X that Real Madrid plans to reacquire Nico Paz as their first signing for 2026, as revealed months ago.
He noted, “Understand the buy-back clause is not valid in January, and Como wants to keep him until summer. The plan is to make the deal happen in June 2026. Nico already said yes.”
This week, Spanish publication El Debate reported that Madrid has decided to bring Paz back from Como this summer.
Madrid plans to activate the €9 million (£7.8m, $10.5m) buy-back clause in Paz’s contract with Como.
The Touchline has also supported these claims on X, reporting that the 21-year-old is now valued at €65 million (£56.3m, $76.2m).
The account, which has 1.5 million followers on X, mentioned, “Nico Paz is expected to sign for Real Madrid this summer. He was worth less than €10 million when he was bought by Como. Now he’s worth €65 million. He’s the only player with over 15 goals and 15 assists since the start of the last Serie A season.”
Paz has thrived at Como since transferring from Madrid in 2024.
The Argentine midfielder has scored 19 goals and provided 17 assists in 72 appearances for the Italian club so far.
Paz told AS earlier this month about scoring for Madrid against Napoli in the Champions League in November 2023, “Pure happiness; I was a 'kid' in my second game with the first team. Scoring in the Champions League against a team like Napoli, with the giants playing in Madrid, in a stadium like the Bernabeu. When I scored, everyone was shouting and chanting my name; it was an incredible feeling.”
When asked about a possible return to Estadio Bernabéu this summer, Paz said, “I don’t want to think about those things. I’m 100% focused here in Como. I want to give my all on the pitch. Then, if an opportunity arises in the future, we’ll see.”
