Genoa only recently returned to Serie A, and while that could make them easy to overlook as a team with top talent, they did finish 11th in the league last season, four points ahead of Monza and just four points behind reigning Scudetto winners Napoli.
In doing so, Genoa unearthed some of the most underrated talents in world football, including a couple of key starters who are getting looks from Europe’s elite clubs like Juventus and Liverpool.
So here is a look at the five best players on Genoa to watch closely in the 2024/25 Serie A season, as these five players could make big strides to stardom or soon join top clubs after helping Genoa achieve success.
Last season, Genoa sold one of Serie A’s best center backs, Radu Dragusin, to Champions League contenders Tottenham, and there are several talents who could be headed for similar moves.
Meanwhile, Genoa have kept the nucleus from the team that nearly went into the top half of the Serie A table, and after watching Bologna push for the Champions League in a Cinderella story, legendary former AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino and Genoa will be hoping that they are next.
CM Morten Frendrup
Nobody should be surprised if Morten Frendrup starts getting linked to big European clubs after the 2024/25 season, and he’s actually already been mentioned as a potential transfer target for Liverpool and Aston Villa, two Champions League sides from the Premier League.
Frendrup is one of the most productive defensive midfielders in Europe, as he averaged 3.6 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game last season for Genoa. Just 23 years old, the Danish international is only scratching the surface on what he can become in the next five years.
Far from a boring defensive presence in the middle of the park, Frendrup is an incredibly active midfielder who can also be a difference-maker on the attacking end, as he recorded two goals and five assists for Genoa in his breakout 2023/24 campaign.
So if you are a fan of a big club in Europe and you are reading this piece to get some intel on anyone from Genoa for the future, then out of all these quality footballers, Frendrup is the one with the best shot at making it big in the future.
ST Albert Gudmundsson
Speaking of breakout campaigns, Albert Gudmundsson was one of the big stories of the 2023/24 Serie A season, outshining the more hyped Mateo Retegui to become the clear star of Genoa, taking the instructions of Gilardino to heart.
Gudmundsson is one of the best all-around strikers in European football right now, even if he is also the most underrated. Both Juventus and Roma have taken long looks at Gudmundsson, who could earn a big transfer next summer alongside Frendrup.
The Iceland international scored an impressive 14 goals with 4 assists last season, but his underlying statistics are even better. Gudmundsson averaged 2.3 key passes per game, as well as 2.5 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per contest.
In the prime of his career, Gudmundsson came out of nowhere to become legitimately one of the best strikers in Italian football. Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram, Dusan Vlahovic, Alvaro Morata, and Victor Osimhen may be the only strikers who are convincingly better than Gudmundsson – all five of those are established European stars.
CM Milan Badelj
The 35-year-old Milan Badelj is still going strong in Serie A as Genoa’s captain and one of the best defensive midfielders in the league, forming quite the tandem with the up-and-coming Frendrup.
Badelj recorded 1.5 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game for Genoa, reading the game expertly as an anchor on a side that defended strongly throughout the 2023/24 Serie A campaign.
Although Badelj doesn’t do most of his shining with the ball at his feet, the veteran Croatian did manage to record three assists for Genoa, ranking third on the team behind Frendrup and Gudmundsson, respectively.
CB Koni De Winter
Genoa sold a talented former Juventus center back this past winter, as they cashed in on Romanian international Radu Dragusin, who made a big move to Tottenham.
Although Koni De Winter isn’t as good as Dragusin, who could become one of the best central defenders in the Premier League after being one of the best in Italy, he is a quality starter for Genoa in his own right.
Another player produced by Juventus yet puzzlingly not given a chance by the Old Lady, De Winter is just 22 years old but is already one of the most important starters for Genoa.
The Belgian international averaged 2.2 combined tackles and interceptions per game last season, and he was also quite good on the ball, nearly leading the team with 42 pass attempts while posting a team-high 88.9 completion percentage.
Like Dragusin, De Winter would probably be starting for Juventus if they had the foresight to keep him, but the Bianconeri’s loss has definitely been Genoa’s gain. The U23 center back should be headed for a top club within the next three years based on his trajectory of growth in Genoa.
CB Johan Vasquez
Genoa have become a factory for creating talented center backs, because even after Radu Dragusin’s departure, they still have about four starting-caliber central defenders to fill out their back four.
One of those quality players is Johan Vasquez, who is, like De Winter, relatively young at 25 and also versatile. De Winter can get some minutes at right back, while Vasquez can work as a left back in a four-man defense.
The Mexican international is quietly one of his country’s best players and also one of Genoa’s. He recorded 1.4 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game last season as an active part of the Genoa defense, only dribbled past 0.5 times per game.
Vasquez was one of the best defenders at Copa America, too, a real bright spot for Mexico with 3.0 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and a whopping 7.0 clearances per game, bringing that all-action playing style to the international stage.
On the ball, Vasquez showed additional ability with the responsibility he was given for Mexico, averaging 67.3 passes per game, completing an excellent 89.1 percent of them. He is one to watch in the 2024/25 season as one of Europe’s more underrated central defenders.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.