Tottenham Hotspur are reeling at the playmaker position, and it showed in their blown lead to PSG in the UEFA Supercup Final to kick off the 2025/26 campaign. Spurs won't have James Maddison for the foreseeable future due to a torn ACL, while his emergency replacement, winger Dejan Kulusevski, is also out for a while with a knee injury.
Having missed out on two established Premier League stars in the attacking midfield in Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White, Tottenham are scrambling with less than 10 days left in the summer 2025 transfer window to fill this all-important need in Thomas Frank's squad. After the way Spurs let those two marquee transfers collapse, the fans have absolutely no faith in Daniel Levy or the club's brass to back the incredibly talented tactician Frank - if they had any faith left at all.
Tottenham have been filing through a host of attacking midfield names that are either impossible to sign right now in the window or are simply underwhelming, like Tyler Dibling. However, a name has been floated back in Spurs direction after weeks of the trail going cold, and this one actually makes some sense.
Appearing on Fichajes MARCA, reporter Diego Rico said that Tottenham Hotspur are preparing a transfer bid to Como for attacking midfielder Nico Paz, who additionally has a buy-back clause to Real Madrid for just nine million euros next year.
Tottenham need to take Real Madrid out of the equation
Real Madrid could have signed Paz for a meager eight million euros this summer after his big Serie A breakout in 2024/25 after his six million euro bargain move to the ambitious Como, but Madrid already have enough mouths to feed in the attack and midfield. But of course, Paz is a bargain at that price and if he plays any better, Xabi Alonso could change his mind, even with Franco Mastantuono set to start already as a new teenage phenom in the Spanish capital.
Tottenham need to snag playmaking talent before the clock runs out, and while detractors will state that they want someone proven from the Premier League like Eze or Gibbs-White were, the reality is that those top options no longer exist on the market. And Tottenham have had great luck with signing stars from Serie A and the Bundesliga in the past. Players like Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, and Dejan Kulusevski are key to Tottenham's success but were proven in Italy and not England.
Last season, the 20-year-old Paz carried Como with six goals, eight assists, and two dribbles completed per game. He is already great and has serious world-class potential. If Tottenham can angle a deal with Como and Real Madrid to get him and get rid of Madrid's release clause over him, Paz could make a lot more sense than Dibling or Maghnes Akliouche.