Ever since his very early days at Genoa, the team that got him ready for football amongst the professionals, he showed signs of being a special talent. Eddie Salcedo, an Italian player of Colombian descent, really has developed rapidly. He first played in the Italian top tier on 20 August 2017 at the young age of 15 years, ten months and 20 days, making him the youngest debutant in the Top Five major European leagues in the 2017/18 season.

And the youngster, who is currently playing for Verona on loan from Inter, took another big step on his journey yesterday with his first goal in Serie A. It was an important one too: his fantastic, precise header from Veloso’s corner broke the deadlock at the Bentegodi against Brescia.

As regards his international career, he’s already starred for the Under-19s, scoring five goals in 19 matches and taking part in the European Championship held in Armenia in July. And now we can only hope that the standing ovation he received from the crowd yesterday becomes one of many. If he continues to show dedication and sacrifice, this could become reality.