Tottenham are now looking to Nico Paz after the extent of an injury to James Maddison was discovered.
It is bad news for the England international, who has now been confirmed to have torn his anterior cruciate ligament during a friendly against Newcastle in South Korea last week.
Tottenham were looking for a new No.10 anyway after trying to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, so Thomas Frank now has an even greater need for an attacking midfielder.
A €40m (£35m) bid for Nico Paz has now been rejected – according to Gianluca Di Marzio – but who is he?
Spurs are pursuing a genuine wonderkid in Nico Paz
Di Marzio believes Como are demanding €70m (£61m) to sell the 20-year-old, and you can see why the Serie A side value him so highly.
Paz is already a full Argentina international with three appearances to his name, and can also already boast a goal for Real Madrid – where he made eight senior outings before a €6m (£5.2m) move to Como in August 2024.
Real Madrid have not – however – given up on the South American, and inserted an €8m (£6.9m) buyback clause in the agreement due to the Argentine’s vast potential.
Paz was used primarily as a No.10 in a central attacking midfield role by Cesc Fabregas at Como last season – the first full senior campaign of his career – and impressed, scoring six goals while also providing nine assists in 35 Serie A appearances.
Nico Paz is statistically similar to Bruno Fernandes
Tottenham famously came close to signing Bruno Fernandes back in the summer of 2019 before his £47m move to Manchester United in January 2020.
Now – however – Spurs could land a clone of the Portugal international.
Data site FBREF have Fernandes down as the most similar player to Paz, with the pair both ranking highly when it comes to shots per game and chances created.
Paz registers 3.65 shots every 90 minutes on average, and performs a shot-creating action for teammates 4.82 times per game.
FBREF interestingly also have the likes of Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze – who Tottenham looked at earlier this summer – and Dominik Szoboszlai on the list of players similar to the Como No.79 at the moment, which reflects very well on his ability.
It will undoubtedly be a tough deal to negotiate given the fact Real Madrid have a buyback clause, although Tottenham clearly feel a move is possible after submitting an opening bid.