Gustavo Varela has been named Serie A’s Rising Star of the Month for October after scoring five goals in five league matches. The Monza forward now has nine Serie A goals in 9 appearances, which is the kind of start that moves a player from prospect to problem for everyone else.
October's surge
Serie A announced the award after Varela’s run through October, and the numbers are hard to ignore. He scored five times in five matches and added one assist in that spell, with his league total now sitting at nine goals from 9 appearances. He has also done it in 762 minutes, which is a sharp return even by forward standards.
The scoring volume is the main story, but the wider club angle is just as obvious. Monza have leaned heavily on him already, and that kind of output tends to pull outside attention with it. A Bola reported that he is on Benfica’s radar, although there is no confirmed move or fee here, just the sense that his value is rising quickly.
What the award says about his level
Former PAOK coach Stelios Malezas said he expected big things, but not this quickly. He added that Varela’s strength has always been tenacity and his reading of play inside the penalty area, while also saying he still needs to link the game more and support teammates more.
That is a fair point. The goals have come fast enough to make the finishing look settled, but the next stage is about whether he can keep adding to his all-round game while Monza try to ride the run. On current form, October is only the start of the conversation.
The award gives him formal recognition, and the next league outing will show whether the scoring pace continues into November.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
