Well, there goes that dream. Tottenham Hotspur took a swing for the fences to get their preferred No. 10 in the door, offering €70m (£61m) for Como midfielder Nico Paz, only to see their offer rejected. €70m was the number said to be what Como was asking to receive to sanction a move for Paz, but it sure seems like the player doesn’t want to go.
Say what you want about Fabrizio Romano, when he states something it’s almost always accurate (Morgan Gibbs-White saga excepted). In this case this feels pretty unequivocal. Paz’s previous club, Real Madrid, has a 50% sell on clause in Paz’s current contract, AND a buy-back clause of €10m next summer, a ridiculously low number for a player that good. It sure seems like Paz has his heart set on a return to Real, and Romano’s assertion that Real was planning to “match any proposal in any case” means there was little to no chance that he was going to leave for anywhere except back to Madrid.
So whatchagonna do? In this case, say you tried and move on to other targets. Maghnes Akliouche is still out there. Bilal El Khannouss is waiting to be gazumped. There are even spurious reports about Tottenham interest in West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá. Eight days left, Johan Lange. The clock is ticking.