Como head coach Cesc Fabregas has rapidly gained admirers across European football over the last 18 months - and his stock is only continuing to rise following Wednesday's 9-1 thrashing of French side Lens in the Champions League.

The Italian side scored from nine of their 12 shots on target at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in what was one of the most memorable nights in their history. Striker Anastasios Douvikas netted a hat-trick, while young Italian midfielder Mattia Liberali scored and assisted twice during a 31-minute cameo.

Only PSG (20) have scored more goals than Como's 19 in the Champions League this season, and Fabregas' side sit fourth in the league standings after three wins and a defeat from their opening four matches of the campaign. Talk surrounding the Spaniard's next steps will only continue to grow - and other teams might find it easier to prise him away from Italian football than they normally might expect.

Cesc Fabregas has rare agreement with Como over next job

While there is no indication that Fabregas plans to end his Como adventure any time soon - he has a contract until June 2028 - there will clearly be significant speculation over when he decides he will move on to another club.

In September, it was reported that the Spaniard had a special clause in his contract that would allow him to join any of Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea - three of his former clubs as a player - for a fixed compensation fee.

But appearing on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored at the beginning of October, Mirwan Suwarso appeared to dismiss the notion that any compensation was required, and stated that he would allow Fabregas to leave the club for nothing if the Spaniard told him that he wanted to pursue a new opportunity.

"He doesn't need a clause to go anywhere he wants," Suwarso said. "In a business like this, he's a friend more than anything else.

"He can go wherever he wants, whenever he wants. I could even say if tomorrow, he calls me and he says, 'Hey, I want to go to Leverkusen', for example. I would say, 'If that's something you want to do, then go'. I don't even need any compensation.

"We understood each other. He's helped us build our club. He created the football foundation. I always like to say he's our Johan Cruyff, like Johan Cruyff was to Barcelona. He created the fundamentals for us. If he goes to the next phase of his career... it could [be Como], I'm not refusing him to stay. I love having him, he's almost like family. But at the same time, you can't keep somebody if they don't want to be there."

Fabregas' situation is unique in top European circles in that he is a shareholder in Como, having become part-owner of the club when they were in Serie B back in 2022.

What Cesc Fabregas said after thumping Lens win

After equalling the record for the biggest winning margin since the formation of the Champions League in 1992, Fabregas said he hoped that his Como side could compete against PSG and Barcelona in their final two games of the league phase in January.

He also said he was 'angry' over the sole goal Como conceded in the second half - when they were 7-0 up.

"When I saw the last two games were PSG and Barcelona, I thought we needed to get as many points as possible in the early fixtures," Fabregas told reporters. "Nothing is impossible, but these are two teams who are of a superior level to the rest.

"There is a long way to go. Those are the last two weeks of January, so all I am focused on is recovering the injured players, because we are missing so many in attack especially.

"There's a final sprint on Sunday [away to Inter Milan in Serie A] before we will try to rest as much as possible over the break for international duty."