Gustavo Varela remains relatively unknown but the Portuguese striker is attracting interest from major European clubs after his incredible start to life at Monza. The 21-year-old’s move from Benfica in the summer barely registered due to the €2.5 million fee but Varela has been the breakthrough star in Serie A this season. Heading into the midweek round of fixtures, Varela is the joint-top scorer in the Italian top-flight and nobody would have predicted him to be in the running to be the Capocannoniere.

The talented striker has seven goals in seven league games to top the charts, alongside Frosinone’s Antonio Raimondo - another surprise package this season. The challenge for Varela will be to maintain his prolific form across the course of the season but he’s already been scouted by leading Italian clubs, while Arsenal have expressed an interest - Benfica retain a favourable buy-back clause, which complicates his future. To gain more insight into Varela, we’ve spoken to Stefano Buonfino, Serie A expert at Transfermarkt.

Gustavo Varela: Serie A scoring sensation

Varela is a traditional striker with his instinctive finishing arguably his strongest asset, but he offers much more than goals. The Portugal U21 international combines pace with strong physicality and his movement in exploiting space behind defences is excellent. Varela has unquestionably benefitted from Monza’s counter-attacking approach as he’s the perfect fit for Ivan Juric’s system. I Biancorossi are expected to be involved in a relegation battle this year and Varela will be key to their survival. The Lisbon-born attacker’s market value is only €5m, but that’s almost certain to increase in the winter Serie A update and Buonfino has detailed his biggest strengths.

“His main strength is efficiency in front of goal as he needs very few chances to score,” said Buonfino. “The challenge for him is to maintain this over a longer period of time as it’s been a small sample size and he’s probably overperforming. He has a sharp, accurate right foot that can also produce delicate finishes. Physically, he uses his body to shield the ball and then turn and shoot, as he did against the experienced Manuel Akanji on his debut against Inter. He also attacks crosses well in the air. He is not a static striker, he moves a lot and works for his teammates."

Can Monza hold onto Gustavo Varela?

Naturally, Monza will struggle to keep Varela if he maintains his current excellence. Napoli have shown the strongest interest, watching him on several occasions and they’ll observe him at close quarters when they travel to Monza on Wednesday night. Inter Milan and Juventus are also monitoring his development, while reputable reports in Italy have linked Arsenal. It’s feasible that Monza will field offers in January but any possible deal is complicated as Benfica hold a buy-back option, believed to be €10m. It’s been reported that clause becomes active at the end of the season and it’s unclear whether they can trigger it in January, before selling Varela on for a substantial profit.

Buonfino added: “Monza signed him for €2.5m from Benfica probably as a backup but he is currently a starter eleven. He has become Juric’s key man, he has taken to Serie A like a natural. The question now is whether his goals will be enough to keep Monza up, and whether Monza can keep him in January with bigger clubs watching for a transfer.”