Desperate times call for desperate measures for Tottenham Hotspur. The North London giants just lost out on another top-tier Premier League playmaker on the transfer market, as Crystal Palace star attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze broke Spurs hearts by choosing to sign with rivals Arsenal at the last second.
Eze's snub followed Morgan GIbbs-White's, leaving Tottenham without a viable star in the attacking midfield role following a potentially season-ending injury to James Maddison, as well as a prolonged recovery period for emergency backup option Dejan Kulusevski.
Spurs are left scouring the market for alternative options, and arguably the most intriguing of the ones actually available for transfer is Como star Nico Paz, who broke out in his first season at the top level.
An immediate starter - and star - in Serie A, Paz joined Como permanently last summer for six million euros. Real Madrid, the club where he graduated from as a top academy prospect, are no longer his parent club, but they can buy him back next summer for less than 10 million euros.
Tottenham may have to spend even more than 70M
Despite Madrid's looming presence, Tottenham are interested in plucking the 20-year-old Serie A playmaker from Como. According to a new report from Italian transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio, Tottenham are ready to go back in for Paz after submitting a 40 million euro transfer bid to Como for the player earlier this window.
Per Di Marzio, Tottenham are going to submit an improved transfer bid to Como for Paz, but Como have set a high asking price for the Spanish international. The Italian club would like to obtain 70 million euros in exchange for the young midfielder, Complicating things further is the fact that Real Madrid will have final say on any Paz transfer because of their buy-back clause.
Therefore, in order for Tottenham to guarantee they keep Paz and don't end up in a Johnny Cardoso situation where he ends up in Madrid, Spurs may have to pay additional cash to Real Madrid on top of the 70 million euros to Como in order to avoid an eventual letdown,
It's a lot of money for a player who could end up being more expensive than Mohammed Kudus, Eberechi Eze, and even Savinho over at Manchester City. Paz is really good and blew everyone away in Serie A, but the competition was easier and the pressure virtually nil at Como with the keys to the kingdom handed to him. He's better than almost all the options left for Tottenham, but he's also ridiculously expensive for someone without a proven track record at the Champions League or Premier League level among the best of the best in Europe.