Tottenham Hotspur have been told that a star attacking midfielder that Daniel Levy made a bid to sign in the summer is a generational talent, as Real Madrid lie in wait to secure his services, while Spurs manager Thomas Frank has been warned against signing his dream target in January.
Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha and Randal Kolo Muani were among the major signings that Daniel Levy made for Tottenham in the summer transfer window before stepping down as the chairman of the north London club.
After winning the Europa League last season and appointing Thomas Frank as the manager, Tottenham are aiming to finish in the top four of the Premier League table and advance from the League Phase of the Champions League in the 2025/26 campaign.
Nico Paz was also on Tottenham’s radar as a target in the summer, with trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano reporting on X at 9:55pm on August 24 of a bid of €70million (£61m, $82.5m) for the Como attacking midfielder.
Como turned it down, with Paz also rejecting the chance to join Tottenham because of his desire to play for Real Madrid in the future.
Madrid sold Paz to Como in the summer of 2024 and have a buy-back clause of €10m (£8.7m, $11.8m) in 2026, according to Romano, with AS reporting on August 27 that Los Blancos have made a ‘promise’ to the 21-year-old to bring him back to the Santiago Bernabeu for next season and beyond.
Paz scored six goals and gave eight assists in 30 Serie A starts for Como last season.
The Argentina international has been on fire this campaign, with the playmaker scoring two goals and giving one assist in three league appearances and winning the Rising Star (Best U23) of the month award for August in Serie A.
Former Napoli CEO and Udinese technical director Pierpaolo Marino has raved about Paz and considers him a generational talent.
Marino told TMW when asked about Paz: “One of the best new developments in Serie A. He’s a player who embodies football genius.
“Given his age, he has incredible room for improvement, so let’s get ready to see something even more stellar.”
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Ademola Lookman slammed amid Tottenham interest
While the chances of Tottenham signing Paz appear to have gone, the north London club could still bring Ademola Lookman to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Dean Jones, reported on September 1 that Tottenham asked Atalanta about Lookman on the final day of the summer transfer window.
Atalanta were willing to sell Lookman for £43.3million (€50m, $59m), but Spurs did not make a bid.
According to SportsBoom on September 10, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank remains keen on a January deal for Lookman.
Frank is said to be ‘quietly confident’ that Tottenham will sign the Nigeria international forward for £20m (€23m, $27m).
Lookman did not play against Lecce in Serie A last weekend and was left out of the squad for the Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Atalanta manager Ivan Juric had refused to reintegrate Lookman into his squad until now. after the former Everton forward refused to train for two weeks in the summer and tried to force a move out of the Serie A club.
According to Quotidiano Sportivo, Lookman is back in training with Atalanta, but Marino has questioned his professionalism, despite the 27-year-old scoring 52 goals and giving 25 assists in 118 appearances for the Italian club so far in his career.
Marino told TMW: “The Percassi family and Atalanta’s handling of the matter has been exemplary.
“No one would want to have such a complicated and difficult case in their hands.
“Lookman has shown himself to be one of those ‘stubborn’ players who think with their wallets and cynicism rather than their heads.
“For me, the matter will end with Lookman’s loss.
“I honestly don’t know if he’ll be a recoverable player, but that’s certainly not Atalanta’s fault.
“He had already shown signs of his approach to professionalism in his relationship with Gasperini.”
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