
Arsenal
Premier League • England
Arsenal ‘like’ a ‘crazy’ star but he ‘asks’ Real Madrid to sign him and fulfil his ‘dream’

Arsenal target Nico Paz, who wants to join Real Madrid from Como next summer
Arsenal are interested in bringing an Argentina international attacking midfielder to the Emirates Stadium, but his dream is to join Real Madrid, according to a report, with the star having also turned down the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur and work with Thomas Frank in the summer.
Although Arsenal made eight major signings in the summer transfer window, sporting director Andrea Berta and manager Mikel Arteta are aware of the need to constantly make changes to the squad to make it better. Like all other major clubs, Arsenal are always on the lookout for top young and emerging talent to safeguard their future.
Nico Paz is one such player, with the former Real Madrid playmaker’s exploits in Italy catching the attention of Arsenal.
According to Arsenal Insider, the Como and Argentina international attacking midfielder is a player that Arsenal ‘like’.
Journalist Graeme Bailey said about Paz while noting Arsenal’s interest in Juventus youngster Kenan Yildiz: “Yildiz is a player that Arsenal are well aware of and like, similar to Arda Guler, Rodrygo, Nico Paz, et cetera.”
Paz joined Como from Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 and scored six goals and gave eight assists in 30 Serie A starts last season.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been on fire for Como this season, too, scoring three goals and registering three assists in five Serie A starts for Cesc Fabregas’s side.
Paz made his debut for Argentina in October 2024, with Lionel Messi subsequently describing the youngster’s maturity as “crazy and beyond his age”, adding that he “has an impressive head”.
While it would make sense for Arsenal to keep tabs on Paz, the north London club will be disappointed to learn that the playmaker wants to move to Real Madrid instead.
According to Defensa Central, a Real Madrid-centric news outlet, Paz’s return to Madrid next summer ‘seems inevitable’.
The headline in the report notes: ‘Nico Paz asks for a place at Real Madrid’.
The report itself claims that Madrid’s ‘clear’ stance is to trigger their buy-back clause next summer and bring Paz back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
It is the 21-year-old’s ‘dream’ to return to Madrid, and Los Blancos manager Xabi Alonso himself would be ‘delighted’ to have him in his squad for next season.
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Nico Paz turned down Tottenham Hotspur
Paz was the subject of interest from Arsenal’s bitter north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in the summer of 2025.
Tottenham, who won the Europa League last season, made a massive bid, but both Como and Paz turned it down because he wanted to continue to play for the Italian club before sealing a return to Madrid, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Romano wrote on X at 9:55pm on August 24: “EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham bid worth €70m package for Nico Páz has been turned down tonight.
“Páz wants to stay at Como with view on Real Madrid future + Real were gonna match any proposal in any case.
“Real have €10m buy back clause in 2026 but will compensate Como in future.”
The playmaker subsequently told Provincia di Como: “The transfer market? I didn’t listen to anything.
“I stayed focused on preparing for the season. Let’s hope everything goes well and that we can reach the highest possible level.”
Spanish publication AS reported on August 27 that Real Madrid have made a ‘promise’ to Paz that they will bring him back next summer.
In February 2025, Paz told Sky Italia about his Madrid desire and noted: “For now, I’m not planning my future, because I’m focused on Como.
“Then who knows… My dream would be to return one day to play for Real Madrid.”
IN PROFILE: Who is Nico Paz?
The son of Pablo Paz, a member of Argentina’s World Cup squad in 1998, Nico Paz was born in 2004 on Tenerife. He soon started honing his own skills as a footballer, developing in the CD San Juan academy before signing for Tenerife – one of the clubs his father used to play for – in 2014.
Two years later, still not yet a teenager, he was snapped up by Real Madrid to develop in their academy. By January 2022, aged 17, Paz was ready to make his debut for Real’s reserve team, the first of 53 appearances for the Castilla side (for whom he would score 10 goals).
Along the way, his form caught the attention of Carlo Ancelotti, who gave him his first-team debut for Madrid in a Champions League match in November 2023. While also juggling his Castilla duties, in what would be a breakout year, Paz went on to make eight senior appearances under Ancelotti, scoring his first and only goal for the club just three weeks after his debut.
But with competition for places high in his preferred position of attacking midfield – not that it is the only role he has ever played in – Paz was sold to ambitious and high-spending Serie A newcomers Como in the summer, where he has been developing under the tutelage of Fabregas.
A senior debut for Argentina – who had already previously named him in their preliminary World Cup squad in 2022, when he was yet to even make his first-team debut for Real Madrid – was awarded in October and he marked the occasion by setting up a goal for a certain Lionel Messi.
A tactically smart playmaker in his own right, Paz stands out for his ability to cover vast territory in midfield and set up chances with through balls and dribbles, making him something of the full package. And standing at over six feet tall makes him even more of a handful for his markers.
Fabregas has been deploying him as a connector between the holding midfielders and striker in his Como system, although the left-footed Paz is a flexible and versatile kind of attacker.
Latest Arsenal news: Mexican wonderkid on radar, Yildiz blow
Nico Paz is not the only youngster that Arsenal are keen on, with the Gunners also keeping an eye on a Mexican wonderkid.
Sources have told TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, that Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona have taken a shine to a Mexico international attacker.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been urged to drop a star for being ‘greedy’ after his side’s win against Olympiacos in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
And finally, trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed Juventus’s plan regarding Kenan Yildiz, amid interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.